Engie's subsidiary, Transmisora Eléctrica del Norte (TEN) (50%) and Red Eléctrica Internacional (50%) have brought into service the first electricity interconnection between Mejillones (Antofagasta Region) and Cardones (Atacama Region) of 500 kilovolts of voltage and 600 kilometers in length.

The interconnection between the SING (Norte Grande Interconnected System) and the SIC (Central Interconnected System) networks is an unprecedented achievement for Chile and marks the beginning of a new stage in the history of national electricity distribution which will create a single, more robust, competitive system.

The President of TEN and CEO of ENGIE Energy Chile, Axel Levêque, said that "the interconnection project marks the beginning of a new era in energy distribution. In addition to providing Chile with a single electricity system, this is a concrete contribution to the diversification of the energy grid, which will facilitate the entry of renewable projects. We are proud to have contributed to this new and revolutionary chapter for our industry, a process in which we have provided our technical and human resources to the country to successfully complete the project."

The project in figures

600 kilometers of line laying

More than 5,000 workers mobilized

Four substations constructed: TEN (Mejillones), Los Changos (Mejillones, and the largest in the country), Cumbre (Diego de Almagro) and Nueva Cardones

1,350 towers over 80 meters in height

15 thousand kilometers of conductor cable

The line goes through five communes in two of the country’s regions. and includes four electrical substations: two terminals located in Mejillones and Copiapó, a transformer substation in Mejillones (Changos sector) and a compensation substation in Diego de Almagro. As the line is alternating current, other projects will be able to be connected along its length, solar and wind generators in particular, which are located in the north of the country.

ENGIE Energia Chile, hold by ENGIE at 52,76%, is one of the main energy companies and the largest in the Northern Interconnected System (SING), which operates nearly 2,168 kilometers of transmission lines and has an installed capacity of 1,971 MW. In January 2016, Red Eléctrica Internacional invested in TEN through Red Eléctrica Chile, providing its experience as the largest group of network operators in Spain.