As part of the projects of the Convergence Table for the Development of Lagging Areas Los Lagos, this sector of Quellón will benefit from the installation of solar panels, which will allow the generation of electrical energy for 14 families. Two other similar projects are already underway in other locations in the commune, such as Michailelo and Piedra Blanca.

A total of 14 families in the Puerto Carmen sector, in the commune of Quellón, will benefit from a photovoltaic panel project, which will allow them to access electricity 24 hours a day.

Currently, the inhabitants of Puerto Carmen access electricity through their own generators, and only for a few hours a day. Each family spends about $50,000 pesos a week on fuel, and must travel for long hours to Quellón, since they do not have a land connection with the communal capital.

The project, which will respond to this important need, arises from an unprecedented articulation between public and private actors, who are currently working on a striking portfolio of initiatives for the island territory of the region.

The body is known as “Convergence Table for the Development of Lagging Areas Los Lagos” and is made up of the Regional Government and the Regional Council of Los Lagos; the municipalities of Quemchi, Puqueldón, Quinchao, Queilen, Quellón and Calbuco; and companies with active participation in the area, such as Yadran, Transportes Puelche, AquaChile, Marine Farm, Salmones Aysén, Mowi, Salmones Austral, Cermaq, Blumar, Camanchaca, Dimarine, Colbún and Salmón Chile. The alliance is articulated by Huella Local, which is also responsible for the design and formulation of the projects. This organization is present in more than 50 communes in Chile (from Arica to Timaukel) and has formulated more than 270 projects of this type in its nine years of activity.

Thanks to the contribution of private companies, Huella Local’s professional team led the project design process, in coordination with the municipal team of Quellón, and with the active participation of the community of Puerto Carmen. Thus, the project was applied to the Neighborhood Improvement Program (PMB), obtaining a total of $229,332,052 from the Subdere to finance its execution.

“This project in Puerto Carmen adds to the works started in other sectors of Quellón, such as Michailelo and Piedra Blanca. Thanks to this work, 50 families will finally have access to electricity in their homes, since they could not access this input through traditional means. That is why I want to thank the community for its trust in this initiative, and for the meeting between the public and private world to generate initiatives of this type (…) Thanks to this innovative way of working, we can bring a little bit of Chile’s development to every place,” said the governor of the Los Lagos Region, Patricio Vallespín.

This premise was shared by Oscar Izurieta, Head of Community Relations at Yadran. “It is satisfying to know that families in this sector will finally have access to electricity in their territory, and that they will not have to travel to buy fuel to fulfill this desire. Sometimes we forget that such everyday acts, such as opening a refrigerator, are a comfort that is experienced in many places, especially in urban sectors, but not in all towns in our country, as is the case of Puerto Carmen. That is why it is a pleasure as a company to collaborate on projects of such relevance for the region and for the communities in which we are now,” said the representative of the private world.

Representing the community, María Ignacia Chiguay, President of the Neighborhood Council of the sector, highlighted that “with this project a dream is fulfilled. My neighbors waited a long time for a solution regarding the light and it was difficult for them to believe that this work was possible, but fortunately we were able to achieve it. I am really excited that we can have light at all hours and I thank every person who could make this work possible.”

Impact of the Table

Since its formation, in 2022, the “Convergence Table for the Development of Lagging Areas Los Lagos” has been developing projects that will mobilize 9,000 million pesos of public investment in the most lagging territories in the region. Of that total, 3,000 million pesos have already been approved to execute projects that will soon be delivered to the communities, demonstrating the effectiveness of public-private collaboration to make investments in infrastructure in remote territories.

Source: www.paislobo.cl