Through this new project, the Hidroituango connection to the National Transmission System reports 96% progress.

The new tranche stands out by its technical capacity and by the incorporation of relevant technology advances.

The delivery is made at a very complex time in our planet, when the reliability and availability of the energy service are of the utmost importance to overcome the emergency.

ISA, through its affiliate ISA INTERCOLOMBIA, declared under commercial utilization the first of the five tranches of Interconexión Noroccidental, a project that will allow Hidroituango to transmit its energy to the National Interconnected System. It includes the Medellin-Ancon Sur and Medellin-Occidente transmission line, the new Medellin substation, and the expansion of the Ancon Sur substation, all of them at 230 kV.

The new project, located on the department of Antioquia, included the construction of the line at 230 kV in three tranches: a 4-circuit transmission line with a length of 11.5 km, the first of its kind in the country; a double circuit transmission line of 9.5 km; and an underground tranche of 1 km that complies with the definitions of the Land Use Plan -POT- of La Estrella municipality. In addition, the expansion of an existing substation (Ancon Sur) and a new substation at Heliconia (Medellin), built with internal GIS type (*) cutting-edge technology, whose main characteristic is the optimization of the space required to install equipment, providing reliable and safe conditions.

According to ISA, in 2015, when the company was awarded the project, the approximate annual income of Interconexión Noroccidental would be USD 42,4 million (2014 dollars).

In the last construction and testing stage, which coincided with the Covid-19 emergency in the country, ISA and its affiliate ISA INTERCOLOMBIA exercised extreme safety measures demanded by authorities to take care of the health and integrity of their employees.

“Through this infrastructure projects, we ratify our interest in complying with the development commitments currently required by Colombians, especially if we have the possibility of integrating the energy of such a major project as Hidroituango into the Colombian system. In ISA, we know the importance in this current crisis of ensuring high reliability levels for the provision of the energy transmission service, which is why we work with commitment, optimism, and tirelessly”, Bernardo Vargas Gibsone, ISA’s CEO, stated.

Through this new line construction, an entire social and environmental management started, including 19 projects to benefit the community in the municipalities of La Estrella, Heliconia, and Medellin. These projects, which included the cooperation of the workforce from neighboring communities, invested around $950 million, and included the construction of community booths and provisions, multipurpose classrooms, adequacy of access routes, improvement of sport centers, and construction of placa-huellas (roads). Also, together with the Secretariat of Environment of Medellín, at the Limona-La Manguala Reserve, 634 trees were planted.

Luis Alejandro Camargo Suan, ISA INTERCOLOMBIA’s CEO, stated that “these projects are part of the Interconexion Noroccidental UPME 03 Project of 2014, infrastructure that will have a total of 700 km of transmission lines, two new substations, and four additional expanded substations, currently becoming the largest energy transmission project in the National Transmission System.”

To declare under commercial utilization the entire Interconexion Noroccidental (4% remaining), some tranches of the 500 kV lines and the installation of transformers are still to be completed in the Medellin substation.