QCOSTARICA — After facing one of the driest years recorded in the basins that feed the country’s hydroelectric plants, the Sistema Eléctrico Nacional (SEN) – National Electric System – shows a recovery in Arenal, its largest and most important reservoir.
To date, it exceeds 539 meters above sea level (masl), which increases energy reserves for the summer of 2025. By January of this year, the maximum level reached 538 masl for a few days.
The recovery of the reservoir has two basic components. The first is the increase in rainfall in the North and Caribbean areas, where most of the water currents that reach Arenal are born and travel. According to the state power company the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), this body of water collects the resource of four main rivers: Arenal, Caño Negro, Chiquito and Piedras.
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The second is the optimization of resources and management measures implemented by ICE, which managed SEN resources to protect the reservoir while still meeting the country’s demand. In this management, it is necessary to highlight that ICE must guarantee water to the Arenal-Tempisque Irrigation District.
“Why is it so important that Arenal exceeds the scheduled level? Our only multi-year reservoir is essential to face the summer and guarantee the satisfaction of demand throughout the year, always seeking to reduce the use of thermal backup to the minimum possible. Compared to January 2024, we already have an additional meter, and we hope that for the remaining weeks of the rainy season it will continue to grow,” said Marco Acuña, president of Grupo ICE.
“Currently, all the plants in the national generation park operate normally and respond to the needs of the SEN itself. We project that next year will show more favorable conditions for the production of electric energy, but this does not imply neglecting the risks of a renewable matrix such as the Costa Rican one,” he added.
Last May, Arenal reached the lowest point in recent years: 531 meters above sea level. However, in the last five months, it has added almost 8 meters – a height higher by 4 meters than estimated.
The Arenal reservoir supplies the water resource for three plants that operate in cascade: Arenal, Dengo and Sandillal.
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