SANTIAGO – This week, Chile inaugurated its new National Electric System after it merged the Central Interconnected Systems (SIC) and the Northern Interconnected System Grid (SING).
The new system, Sistema Eléctrico Nacional in Spanish, serves 97% of the country’s population and it extends for 3,100 km. It will connect an installed capacity of approximately 24,000 MW, representing 99% of the country’s total, and a demand of 11,000 MW.
#RevoluciónEnergética: Este es el momento exacto en que el SING y el SIC se hicieron uno, pasando a tener un #ChileInterconectado ??⚡ pic.twitter.com/SIJoKZbO0X
— Ministerio Energía (@MinEnergia) November 22, 2017
Construction began in August 2015, with an investment of USD 700 million (EUR 592.2m).
The new system will result in a more efficient electricity market, with increased energy security and, among other things, lower costs. The government estimates an increase in the GDP by USD 500 million in the short term and by USD 1.6 billion in the long-run.
