EPM clearing rubble from Colombia hydro project

Colombian utility EPM is hauling out rubble from around the devastated powerhouse at its 2.4GW HidroItuango project in anticipation of starting operations in late 2021, three years behind schedule.

The controversial hydroelectric project, located on the Cauca river 170km (106mi) northwest of Medellin in Antioquia department, has been stalled since the April 2018 obstruction and subsequent collapse of an auxiliary tunnel that was built to accelerate construction. The incident forced EPM to flood the underground powerhouse — which shelters the turbines — rather than risk a catastrophe in downstream communities.

The cost of the project, the largest generation project in Colombia, has climbed to $5.5bn-$6bn from a previous $5bn, not including lost electricity sales, EPM said. The company is now in the process of selling domestic and international assets, including 10.2pc of transmission giant ISA, to cover costs while insurance claims are processed. According to Norwegian-Chilean consultancy Skava, the probable cause of the collapse was the lack of a tunnel lining.

During a 7 June site visit, Argus was among the first media outlets to enter the powerhouse, where EPM recently finished pumping out the river water. The main equipment casualties are two turbines and 19 of 24 transmission units that had been installed in an adjacent underground chamber, according to William Giraldo Jimenez, EPM vice president of generation projects and head of HidroItuango. But he noted that the roof of the powerhouse remains intact.

"It could have been worse," he said. "But more difficult than the damage was having to let go some of the workers."

EPM, which is wholly owned by Antioquia department, is currently recovering control of the project, which it sees as a vehicle for social development in the remote region known for coca, wildcat mining and armed insurgents. The company said it hopes to complete the project recovery phase in mid-2020, and start the first two of eight 300MW turbines in December 2021. Another two would begin service in October 2022. Once fully operating, HidroItuango is designed to generate an average of 13,930 GWh/yr, reinforcing the lead role of hydroelectricity in Colombia's generation mix.

Dam the river

Two communities downstream from HidroItuango, Puerto Valdivia in Valdivia municipality and El Doce in Taraza, remain under a mandatory evacuation. EPM said it hopes the government risk management agency (UNGR) will ease the order soon.

"The project risks have gone down and the communities are less vulnerable than a year ago," Robinson Arturo Miranda Gomez, HidroItuango director of environmental, social and sustainability issues, told Argus.

Last month EPM closed one of two floodgates in the auxiliary diversion gallery (GAD), and is preparing to seal off the right diversion tunnel (TDD). An open spillway with four floodgates began fully operating in February, the hydroelectric dam is approaching 430m above sea level, and water is no longer flowing through the powerhouse, reducing the risk of an overflow. EPM has expanded an early warning system in the communities and conducted workshops and drills to prepare residents for any future contingency, Miranda said.

HidroItuango has myriad detractors, from social activists to environmentalists who oppose the intervention of river ecosystems. Environmental group Rios Vivos Colombia said the project harms the health and livelihood of local residents and fishermen, and is campaigning to dismantle it altogether.

"This is not just an ecological issue," Isabel Cristina Zuleta, a leader of Rios Vivos, told Argus. "People cannot live with this uncertainty."

Other critics say the project is the latest example of mismanagement and even corruption that all Colombians will ultimately pay for.

For EPM, there is no turning back from HidroItuango, which has been studied for more than five decades. Despite the delays and contingency last year, company officials proudly maintain that the project is bringing jobs, roads, schools, clinics and public services to a region where, like so many other parts of the country, the Colombian state has no presence.