The Business
LITSA´s Participation in the Transmission System
Taking into account the total number of the facilities where LITSA carries out Operation and Maintenance Works, its participation within the WEM is around 11% of Argentina´s Extra High Voltage Power Transmission System.
Likewise, it is worth commenting that those electroducts that LITSA operates and maintains from Rincón Santa María Substation (Corrientes Province) evacuate around 60% of the energy produced by Central Hidroeléctrica Yacyreta to the Argentinean Electrical Market.
New businesses and Projects
LIMSA´s Mesopotamian Interconnection
Third Section of the Transmission system associated to the Central Hidroeléctrica Yacyretá
Since the year 2006, LITSA has participated as shareholder of the company Líneas Mesopotámicas S.A. (LIMSA) for the Construction, Operation and Maintenance (COM Contract) of the Third Section of the Yacyretá Transmission System — North Subsection.
The COM Contract of this project was awarded to LIMSA and signed together with the National Government in mid of June 2006 and the commercial activity started in late May 2008.
The above-mentioned Contract included the Construction, Operation and Maintenance of:
- 670 km of 500 kV lines with Cross Rope-type structure.
- Extension of the 500 kV Rincón Santa María Substation (Corrientes Province).
- Construction of two new 500/132 kV Substations, “San Isidro and Mercedes” (Misiones and Corrientes Province, respectively).
The operation and maintenance of the facilities constructed by LIMSA are in charge of LITSA up the expiration of the Contract in the year 2088.
NOA-NEA Interconnection
(Northwest — Northeast of Argentina)
LITSA participated as Operator of installations in the Bidding of the Norte Grande Transmission Program that included the Construction, Operation and Maintenance of the so-called NOA-NEA, EAST subsection that had been awarded to the Company Líneas del Norte S.A. (LINSA).
The above-mentioned Contract included the Construction, Operation and Maintenance of:
- 572 km of 500 kV lines with Cross Rope-type structure.
- Extension of the 500 kV Resistencia Substation (Chaco Province).
- Construction of three new 500 / 132 kV Substations, “Gran Formosa” (Formosa Province), “Chaco” (Chaco Province) and “Monte Quemado” (Santiago del Estero Province).
All the above-mentioned 500 kV interconnection, which commercial activity started in late 2010, is operated by LITSA.
LITSA´s Grid
The electroducts operated by LITSA are placed in the Litoral and North Region of Argentina.
The layout of the Litoral Region covers part of the provinces of Corrientes, Misiones and Entre Rios; the construction of the lines had to overcome important technical challenges due to soil and climate regional conditions, mainly in the province of Corrientes, where the estuary region with floating weeds, lagoons with a depth between 4 and 5 meters and a rain regime that reaches 1,500 millimeters per year. All these obstacles were overcome with technically capacity and competent personnel.
The layout of the Northeast region of Argentina covers part of the provinces of Santiago del Estero, Chaco and Formosa. In this case, the operation and maintenance of the electroducts were affected by climate and soil-related problems, because in this area, the extremely high summer temperatures (118,4 ºF — 122 ºF) and the soil crusts and mud (depending of the zone) constitute daily problems our personnel have to face in order to perform an excellent work.
Operative Structure
LITSA´s Operative management has its own Operations Management at the Rincón Santa María Substation in Ituzaingó, Province of Corrientes. This management makes the whole coordination of maintenance works for both substations and lines, and also the operation of LITSA´s entire transmission system.
This operation is developed by LITSA´s Control Center, also placed in this site, which is equipped with a Real — Time Operating System that keeps informed all the operators of the Control Center during the 24 hours a day about events, alarms and parameters of the different substations and lines.
Likewise, competent personnel and proper equipment for Live-Line Works are sited in different lines maintenance bases such as Rincón Santa María, Carlos Pellegrini and Curuzú Cuatía in the Province of Corrientes, San Salvador in the Province of Entre Rios, Formosa in the Province of Formosa, Sáenz Peña in the Province of Chaco and Monte Quemado in the Province of Santiago del Estero.
Those substations operated by LITSA are managed by technicians who are trained in the Operation and Maintenance of this type of installations, and whose working site is constituted in said substations. The above-mentioned substations are as follows: “Rincón Santa María” and “Mercedes” in the Province of Corrientes, “San Isidro” in the Province of Misiones, “Salto Grande Argentina” in the Province of Entre Ríos, “Gran Formosa” in the Province of Formosa, “Chaco” in the Province of Chaco and “Monte Quemado” in the Province of Santiago del Estero.