2023-05-25 03:52:58
Six million people are without gas in southwestern Colombia due to a sharp rise in temperature around the gas pipeline that serves the region, probably due to a volcanic phenomenon, according to the gas companies affected.
“As of May 24, 2023 at noon, natural gas service has been completely interrupted in the southwest of the country,” Gases de Occidente said in a statement. The outage affects some six million people, including 1.3 million users in Cali, Colombia’s third largest city.
According to the TGI company, which operates the affected gas pipeline, the most likely cause is an “underground fire” in the area of the Cerro Bravo volcano, in the department of Tolima (center). The company explained that underground temperatures “over 600°C” and “incandescent rocks” were detected in the area where the pipe that serves the south-west of the country passes.
Work to restore service might take a week, Gases de Occidente said.
Two-thirds of Colombia’s 50 million depend on gas for cooking, according to the Colombian Natural Gas Association.
Images posted on social media showed people cooking over open fires, and long queues outside shops selling electric stoves. In cities using buses running on natural gas, public transport is paralyzed.
“A vast emergency plan is necessary. It is a crisis like we have not experienced for a long time”, commented to the press the mayor of Cali, Jorge Ivan Ospina.
1684990233
#Gas #blackout #Colombia #due #volcano
