Following a strategic meeting held last month in Montevideo, The Regional Energy Integration Commission (CIER), GIZ, and GET.transform reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening technical cooperation and advancing knowledge exchange across the region. An example of this aspiration in action was a recent Operator’s Course to equip system operators with the skills needed to improve system operation and reliability with increasing shares of variable generation, climate change, and other developments affecting energy systems in the region.
CIER organised the Operator’s Course in partnership with GET.transform. It forms part of CIER’s System Operators and Market Administrators Working Group, targeting stable electrical system operation in the context of increasing shares of variable renewable energy. The activity was developed with and facilitated by EA Energy Analyses, part of the GET.transform’s expert pool, contributing a wealth of international best practices.
Held from April 13 to 17, at ICE’s Operation and Control of the Electric System Division (DOCSE) in San Jose, the in-person training brought together 52 participants from 13 electricity system operators.
With the participation of system operators from diverse national contexts, the workshop provided a structured space for peer learning on the operational realities of evolving power systems. Network codes, dispatch procedures with and without a market, and the operation of interconnected systems featured in the technical sessions. With a strong emphasis on system reliability and resilience, participants examined black start procedures, stability metrics and indicators, as well as system restoration plans.
Additionally, practical insights were complemented with a site visit to the ICE Energy Control Center and the Central Valley Wind Farm (PEVC) operated by the National Power and Light Company (CNFL) in Santa Ana, offering participants direct exposure to system management and renewable energy integration in practice.
This targeted regional workshop and peer-learning experience represents an effective response to operational challenges and builds confidence in expanding shares of variable renewable energy in Latin America and the Caribbean.
