Electricity on the Peninsula

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⚡ Electricity on the Peninsula

Electricity on the Santa Elena Peninsula is generated locally.

Electricity on the Santa Elena Peninsula is generated locally. CELEC's thermal plants in Santa Elena produce about three times what the province uses, and the surplus goes to the national grid.

How it works

Stage	Who	Details
Generation	CELEC EP	Thermal plants 2 and 3, Sector 14, Santa Elena: 132.1 MW installed, about 124 MW effective
Transmission	CELEC Transelectric	High-voltage lines and substations; the province's lines converge at Las Juntas (Simón Bolívar)
Distribution and billing	CNEL EP	Local lines, connections and bills in all three cantons
Demand	—	The whole province uses only 35–45 MW

Coverage (2022)

La Libertad: 97.6% of homes (lowest in zone 5, 89%)
Salinas: 97% (cabecera 98%, José Luis Tamayo 97%, Anconcito 94%)
Santa Elena canton: 93.8%

Did you know…?

🏥 …only about 14% of people in Salinas have IESS general insurance?

How IESS works →

Good to know

The transmission lines converge at Las Juntas, in the dry forest; a fire there can affect supply across the area.
Street lighting is the most common complaint: some parks, sports grounds and the San Pablo–E-40 bypass are poorly lit.
During national power rationing, local generation does not protect homes from cuts — see Power Cuts Ecuador.

Paying

See Paying Utilities. (The rubbish collection fee is now charged on the water bill, not the electricity bill.)

Sources: PDOT cantón Santa Elena (pp. 96, 115); PDOT Provincia de Santa Elena 2019–2023 (p. 63); PDOT Salinas 2023–2027 (p. 150); PDOT La Libertad 2024–2030 (pp. 113–114).

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