The challengue

The Farellones sector, in the Andes Mountains of Santiago de Chile, is located at more than 2,400 meters above sea level and it is one of the most important tourist centers in the country for the practice of snow sports. In the winter season, its population and energy load increase exponentially, so any power failure can cause both economic losses and connectivity problems.

DOMINION's +

DOMINION works with ENEL throughout the mountain range, taking care of the entire disconnection in the sector from the San Enrique Plant to Valle Nevado and La Parva. There we carried out preventive maintenance on the La Posada feeder and its transformers, covering an extension of 40 km of de-energized lines. This operation included the cleaning and change of chambers, insulators and terminal muffles; retightening of connections and moorings; change of crossheads and revision of the Valle Nevado Bypass.

In total, 13 DOMINION air crews were involved together with our Construction and Electrical Works team. Additionally, and in line with our commitment to health and safety at work, the Prevention area managed the hiring of 2 ambulances for the early assistance of our team and took charge of the correct circulation of vehicles in the place, with the presence of 6 preventionists (4 from the Independence Base and 2 from Zone 4 Pacific).

Results

On Friday, November 25th, DOMINION managed to successfully carry out the maintenance of the Andean electrical network, complying with the disconnection deadlines set and announced to the population. The continuous flow of vehicular traffic through the sector was maintained thanks to the external hiring of personnel specialized in signaling and road diversion.

The strategic separation of the operating team into 5 large work crews, allowed us to obtain a better overview of the situation and detect possible failures, problems or specific needs. With an exact duration of 6 hours, the disconnection involved more than 2,500 end customers that are usually affected when the electricity supply is interrupted during the winter period.

At the end of the day, DOMINION complied with all the safety and quality standards necessary to successfully carry out this important maintenance task.