Weekly Market Analytics Chile Vol 11 Num 29

VOL 11 | NUM 29 | 7 February 2025

Power Markets Weekly

CHILE | 27 January - 2 February 2025

Power Markets Weekly is a brief weekly review of the electric market operation in Chile, Mexico, Iberia, France and Italy. If you are not a subscriber, please feel free to subscribe here

DNV offers tools for Wholesale Market analysis and operation:

DNV Power Analytics (DNV-PA) is our web-based platform that provides access to constantly updated long-term energy price forecasts.
With a refined design and an improved user experience we are upgrading our digital services for our customers.

Learn more about Power Analytics here

Solar and wind generation rise while diesel sets peak prices

Global SEN operation

This week, the average price in Polpaico was USD 45.5/MWh, marking a 3% decrease from the previous week and a 4% decrease compared to the same week last year.

Marginal cost evolution in Polpaico during past years

The system’s maximum demand reached 11.7 GW on Wednesday at 2 PM, with wind and solar contributing 69.9% of the total generation. The highest wind and solar participation occurred on Monday at 1 PM, covering 73.9% of the total generation.

The main variations in the energy mix were as follows: dam -2.2 pp., run-of-river -1.5 pp., coal +1.9 pp., solar +1.5 pp., and wind +1.0 pp. Renewables accounted for 67.8% of this week's energy mix.

Generation Mix

Variation

Power range by energy sources (average prices)

Generation evolution

Geothermal

Cogeneration

Biomass

Coal

Gas

Oil

BESS

Dam

Run-of-river

Wind

PV Solar

CSP

Prices started the week high as Polpaico averaged USD 172.5/MWh on the first eight hours. During these Monday early hours diesel units Kelar and Los Pinos set the price system wide, due to supply contrains on gas and control of reservoir levels.

The rest of the week prices across reference nodes were mostly coupled, with the exception of Puerto Montt. Prices in Puerto Montt differed from the rest of the reference nodes due to congestion in the transmission network. These congestions, mainly on the 220 kV line Lastarria - Ciruelos, led to the dispatch of diesel units every day of the week in the southern zone.

The weekly peak price occurred on January 31st at 5 AM, reaching USD 251.7/MWh in Puerto Montt.

In contrast, the count of hours with price zero at each reference node was as follows: Crucero, Diego de Almagro, and Pan de Azúcar: 75 hours; Polpaico and Charrúa: 56 hours; and Puerto Montt: 14 hours.

Marginal cost evolution

Crucero
USD 45.0/MWh

D. de Almagro
USD 43.5/MWh

Pan de Azúcar
USD 42.1/MWh

Polpaico
USD 45.5/MWh

Charrúa
USD 43.8/MWh

Puerto Montt
USD 143.9/MWh

Solar, Wind & BESS production

Solar generation grew by 27.5 GWh (+6%) this week, and the average solar plant factor in the system was 26.6%. The Charrúa zone achieved the maximum solar plant factor this week, averaging a remarkable 37.6%.

Wind generation also saw an increase of 21.3 GWh (+9.1%). Across the system, the average wind plant factor remained high at 27.9%. The Charrúa zone marked the peak plant factor for wind, averaging 42.3% over the week and reaching 63.2% on Tuesday.

Regarding storage, BESS energy discharges were 3.1 GWh below the previous week (-12%). The BESS plant factor averaged 14.5% across zones, peaking in the Diego de Almagro zone with 20.1%.

This week, curtailment averaged 12.6% for wind and 16.2% for solar, resulting in a combined curtailment rate of 15%. Note that this calculation excludes Friday, January 31, due to missing data from that day.