As the national grid owner and operator of Ecuador, CELEC EP is committed to expanding power supply capability to meet rapidly increasing nationwide demand. Following the completion of the CCS hydropower plant in northeastern Ecuador, CELEC EP established the country’s first 500kV transmission corridor. This critical infrastructure spans from the northeast to the southwest, transporting bulk electricity along the corridor and to the load center surrounding Guayaquil.

The newly built 500kV power grids (marked as red lines) from CCS hydro power plant to Guayaquil load center includes four major 500kV/230kV substations, which had connected the new 500kV corridor to the existing national 230kV power grids, providing the existing grids with sufficient power supply. This big project had greatly enhanced the power transmission capability of CELECEP. However a system study before the project shows that the loads variations as well as possible line faults may badly influence the grid stability especially at the load center at Guayaquil.

To address these stability concerns, RXPE conducted an in-depth analysis of the Ecuador national grids (equal or higher than 69kV), gaining a precise understanding of the network equivalents across both existing 230kV grids and the new 500kV corridor. In close collaboration with CELEC EP, RXPE defined possible line faults details and performed rigorous simulations. The results identified that a -30Mvar to +120Mvar SVC installed at the Chorrillos 230kV Substation would effectively solve the problem. The SVC was engineered with a multi-branch configuration, featuring one TCR (Thyristor Controlled Reactor) branch, one TSC (Thyristor Switched Capacitor) branch, and three FC (Filter Capacitor) branches.

The thyristor valves were designed as horizontal layout with an efficient water/air cooling method. To ensure maximum reliability and availability, the design incorporates redundant circulating pumps and a redundant control & protection system. During the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT), the RTDS simulation was conducted using the real SVC controllers to verify that the control strategy met all performance requirements derived from the system studies.

Chorrillos SVC had successfully enhanced the transmission stability of Ecuador grids' first 500kV corridor. The corridor had been operating safely ever since it was firstly energized in 2017. With SVC in service, this 500Kv transmission corridor had significantly improved the electricity supply condition in the whole country, with both sufficient electric power and robust operation.