Enel told to postpone Chile coal exit due to distressed power grid

May 9 (Renewables Now) - Enel Generacion Chile SA has been instructed to postpone the closure of its last coal-fired power plant in Chile by four months, the company has announced.

It said that it was instructed by Chilean national energy commission CNE to delay the shut down of the Bocamina II generation unit until September 30, 2022, due to the water crisis in the country and the power grid being stretched thin.

Bocamina II was initially scheduled to cease operations on May 31. It is the last coal-burning unit that Italian utility group Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) operates in Chile.

In early 2021, the group’s Chile-based subsidiary pledged to cut its direct CO2 emissions by 64% by 2023 compared to 2017 mainly on the back of the coal exit and the addition of new renewables.

In the latest announcement, Enel Generacion said that the company remains committed to decarbonisation and to the communities around the Bocamina power plant.