The joint venture of Consorcio Noboa and Union Fenosa is proceeding with three power generating projects in Ecuador. The projects are expected to cost US$200M and produce 142MW of power. They include a 50MW plant planned to be constructed in Cotopaxi province, the 48MW Intag project at Imbabura, and the 44MW Apaqui Project at Carchi. This is the first concession granted to private investors following the electric power law that approved the tendering of projects below 50MW to IPPs to be constructed on a BOT basis. The electric power bill aims to add 1400MW to the domestic power generating installed capacity. The generated power will be fed into the national power transmission network Sistema Nacional Interconec-tado. Ecuador introduced power rationing in October 1997 due to water shortages in its hydro reservoirs.
