Corpoelec to Fire Up Third Unit at Termozulia II Power Plant in Early 2011

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Corpoelec, Venezuela's state power company, is working to finish construction on the third unit at the 300-megawatt (MW) Termozulia II facility, which is the second stage of the Termozulia complex inaugurated in 2003 and is owned by Corpoelec's Energia Electrica de Venezuela (Enelven).

The plant, which is in Zulia state, is part of the Rafael Urdaneta thermo power complex, which delivers 750 MW of electricity to Zulia state. With a power output of 150 MW, the steam turbine is projected to begin operations in the first part of 2011, plant officials told Industrial Info. The other two simple-cycle combustion units at Termozulia II plant began operations in May 2009, with a power output of 300 MW. When combined-cycle operations begins at Termozulia II, the plant will see capacity rise to 470 MW. The engineering, procurement and construction contract was awarded to Jantesa S.A. (Caracas, Venezuela).

On the other hand, Corpoelec advances with plans to construct the combined-cycle Termozulia III thermo power plant, which would demand an investment of $760 million.

With a power output of 500 MW, Termozulia III would be built by a consortium formed by Electroingenieria (Cordoba, Argentina), Inelectra S.A. (Caracas, Venezuela) and Sener S.A. (Madrid, Spain). Duro Felguera S.A. (MCE:MDF) (Oviedo, Spain) and Odebrecht (Salvador) also participated in the bidding process.

Corpoelec was created in June 2007 after the country's power sector was nationalized. The entity controls 14 power companies operating in the country: Edelca, Electricidad de Caracas, Enelven, Enelco, Enelbar, Cadafe, Genevapca, Elebol, Eleval, Seneca, Enagen, Caley, Calife and Turboven.

Venezuela is facing a severe power crisis as levels at the Guri dam, which provides about 70% of the power consumed in the country, continue to fall. Zulia state, which is the center of Venezuela's oil industry, needs about 2.4 GW of capacity. Corpoelec is developing 18 new generation projects in that country.

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