Repowerbefore you build

The CEO of XM, Colombia’s system operator, put it plainly: 55% of the expansion projects on the national and regional transmission grids are behind their in-service dates. The country’s own planning unit admits delays of more than a decade.

Panama’s answer:repower first

ETESA, Panama’s transmission company, runs a USD 167 million investment program this year and prefers repowering existing lines over building new ones. Its manager says repowering maximizes resources, minimizes risk and keeps the grid robust:

Con la repotenciación maximizamos recursos, minimizamos riesgos y garantizamos robustez en la red

Repowering means replacing conductors, breakers, instrument transformers and protection so the same right-of-way carries more power. It does not require negotiating new land or lengthy environmental permits, but it does require working with the station energized and very short outages.

What that worktakes

• Staged planning, with temporary bays or mobile substations.
• Protection re-coordinated with the rest of the grid before every outage.
• Procurement with real lead times: equipment must arrive before the outage window.
• Own, documented experience: in Colombia, contracts executed in the country.

The region needs to more than double grid investment over the next decade, to USD 30 billion a year by 2035 (IEA). A large share of that money will go to work on grids that already exist. Whoever knows how to work on them without switching them off will have work.