Government extends preventive power rationing decree due to risk of power shortages

In view of the vulnerability caused by the severe drought affecting the country's electricity system, the government decided to extend once again the validity of the preventive decree on electricity rationing in order to have the tools to avoid the implementation of programmed power cuts, among other measures.

Thus, the decree that expired on March 31 will now remain in force until September 30.

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"In order to reduce and manage the depth of the deficit in the face of critical or unforeseen situations, the National Energy Commission recommended to this Secretary of State to maintain the water reserve of 66 GWh defined in Decree No. 51, according to the analyses made by the Coordinator in its Report DEAS-GM-SEN Nº3/2023 Supply Security Study period February 2023 - January 2024, since, for the stress conditions of the system, there could be a risk of shortage", says the resolution of the Ministry of Energy published this Thursday in the Official Gazette.

It adds that the above is in harmony with the analysis carried out by the National Energy Commission (CNE), in which in all the scenarios evaluated there is a risk of shortage.

Effects

In this sense, he specifies, in case the rationing decree is not extended, among other effects, it would not be possible to count on the supply of fuel by pipeline for the San Isidro 1 and Nehuenco 1 power plants, which would imply a greater stress for diesel logistics and, therefore, a greater risk of shortage.

"For all of the above, the CNE concluded that the situations of risk of shortage may be maintained for the year 2023, depending on the availability of energy resources that the system presents, considering both the current generation park and the projected one regarding the projects that may enter service during the following months; therefore, by virtue of the analyses carried out by the Commission, it was recommended to this Secretary of State to extend the Preventive Rationing Decree until September 30, 2023?, it indicates.

Due to the tightness of the system, the Ministry of Energy decided to establish in August 2021 a preventive decree of electric rationing, whose validity has been consecutively extended.