2023-05-24 12:51:32
He group of former Secretaries of Energy of the Nation issued a statement alerting that, given the imminent expiration of the hydroelectric concessions of five of the six Comahu damse, the best option is not the plan that the government has adopted to take over its management from the state company Enarsa, but rather extend the current concessions for one year so that the definition is taken by the next government.
The position was signed by the former heads of Energy of the Nation Emily Apud, Julius Araoz, Henry Devoto, Alieto Guadagni, Jorge Lapeña, Daniel Montamat and Raul Oloccoand part of the caveat that, since Some of the dams are between 40 and 50 years old, they require expensive maintenance works that might hardly be financed from Enarsa.
“It should be made clear that the group of hydroelectric plants is 50 years old, in the case of the El Chocón and Planicie Banderita plants, 40 years in the case of the Alicurá plant and 30 years in the case of the Piedra del Águila,” they said.
And they added that this “implies that At least 50% of these plants have completed their useful life and 25% will complete it in the next 10 years. To prolong this useful life it will be necessary to face large investments as is the usual practice in this type of venture.
The Former Secretaries questioned the current government by indicating that “A few months following the end of his term, he intends to adopt an extemporaneous attitude, which will condition the next. Indeed, it has announced that it will nationalize the hydroelectric plants whose concessions are regarding to expire incorporating them into Enarsa’s assets and with the participation of the provincial governments«.
The one-year extension clause of the concessions
That definition that is elaborated by Nation in these days was marked by the Former Secretaries as a «irrelevant and inconsistent decision since Enarsa is not in technical or economic conditions. Nor does it have the experience to operate or to plan and carry out large investments. that will demand the extension of the life of power plants of the Chocón or Planicie Banderita type”.
The former officials recalled that the large Comahue power plants, which are located on the Limay and Neuquén rivers, between the provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén, «they gather around 4000 MW and play an important role in supplying the National Interconnected System. The operation of these plants is carried out as established by the National Load Office operated with the company Cammesa ».
For this reason, the referents stated that “given the importance of the issue, and its long-term effects, We understand that this decision has to be adopted within the framework of the energy policy of the next government”.
and they proposed “make use of the contractual clauses of current contracts whose expiration date is near and extend their expiration for one year«. A term that they indicated “will allow the decision to be implemented by the next government that emerges from the polls that takes office on December 10, 2023. And at the same time there will be enough time to make a thoughtful and rational decision.”
They also stated that “during the contractual extension period of 1 year, carry out technical audits in order to determine the real state of the facilities and define the investments necessary to extend the useful life of the plants.
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