The story behind a hastily signed decree

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This time, the cold came early And, as in countries with four seasons, You will need to take off your summer clothes and shake off your winter clothes.. Something similar happened with the government, which faced a cold sooner than expected. And then, as the temperature rose and the locker room changed, He was unable to wrap himself in evidence in time supply situation today Due to delay in unloading of LNG vessel.

The household metaphor works well to explain what happened with energy markets these days in May The thermometer registered a temperature about 10° lower than the record for this date last year. For example, the average temperature recorded on Sunday is 7.5°, minimum 4.5° and maximum 11°, while in the same week of 2023 it was 18°. According to official figures.

On the back of this cold wave, the energy market was shaken and it did not take long for reactions from all actors to emerge. The plan was at its limit, but, with a few more degrees in the last hours, the issue turned from red to orange.

X-rays behind the cold help understand the government’s next movewho has just published decree Which aims to rewrite the existing subsidy system and straighten out the rates within a fixed time. In a word, An attempt will be made to move from a normalized scheme to another scheme in which the supply (generator) is not compensated to benefit the user

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Ultimately, it is about making users pay the real cost of energy, regardless of whether politics decides to compensate vulnerable sectors or not. And, incidentally, discourage consumption in areas where there are no restrictions.

In this The government is well aware of the impact of such a measure and has decided to set up a transition plan for six monthswith the prospect of another semester to implement the most ambitious energy plan in recent years. But, aware of the budgetary emergencies that can occur when demand gets out of control, he did not hesitate to speed up the timing to such an extent that The published decree was signed by President Xavier Miley shortly before boarding a plane and leaving for the United States.Where your agenda these days will be with the pinnacle of global technology entrepreneurs.

When the cold comes, heaters and boilers turn on, and when the flame leaves the pilot light, domestic demand skyrockets. According to data from the National Gas Regulation Entity (Energas), lPrivate users (priority demand) consumed 77.6 million cubic metres of gas per day. For comparison, a year ago, the same week consumed about 42 million,

Such a curve was generated Reconnect the gas regasifying ship at Escobar a few days earlier than originally planned. Here’s a point: the historic port that performed a similar operation in Bahía Blanca is no longer installed at the dock.

The decision to abandon the ship that came three months into 2008 and had practically stayed put for 15 years is a direct consequence of the large injection resulting from its entry into service. The Nestor Kirchner Gasduct, a work that will surely be renamed like the Cultural Center,

With the heater on, all the budget alarms also went off.. In a hurry, 10 more ships of liquefied natural gas were added to the 20 ships purchased. And in fact, the one connected in Escobar is from the emergency batch. Every day, it supplies 10 million cubic meters per day, despite the fact that the system has the capacity to inject between 15 and 17 million per day. The point is that all gas consumption was rationalized as much as possible, including the injection of the regasifier.

Now what happened to other big gas consumers? In these cold days everyone got less gas than last year. Industry is a special case.

The government decided to cut off the supply of those industrial contracts that were classified as “Interference factor“. This is a provision that subtracts from the price the possibility that, in the event of a specific need, such as the cold in this case, the supply is cut off. Of course, the price is cheaper than the contract”adamant“. That lever was lowered this weekend.

For these hours, Industrial consumption stands at 25.4 million cubic metres, compared to a record of nearly 35 million in the same week of last year, 27% lower than the same period of 2023.. Now, this collapse is not only a result of this decision to cut “disrupted” contracts, but goes deeper Decline in industrial activity which happens in the final quarters.

But the big decision is that Reduce the amount of available gas consumed by the generator. In fact, always according to official data, consumption during these days of May is, on average, what is required 23.4 million cubic meters, i.e. 44% less, compared to the 41.8 million needed for the burners of thermoelectric plants to generate energy. How is it possible that at a time when the use of electricity for heating also puts a strain on the network, less gas is used? For a simple reason: the government distributes huge quantities of diesel or fuel oil to replace fuel.

A combination of events, including a drop in gas supplies from Bolivia and a drop in electricity deliveries from Brazil as a result of flooding in the south of that country, as well as unfinished work to double the transport of the Nestor Kirchner gas pipeline, generated enormous tensions. The careful fiscal purse is managed by the economy minister, Luis Caputo, but monitored by the president.. In fact, some shipments of liquid fuel had to be distributed here and there due to hasty purchases $500 million that was not planned. In whose account is this Crorepati’s cheque deposited “Energy subsidies” is one of the most prominent lines that make up the fiscal adjustment.

Thus, Decree 465 emerged, published today and signed by the Head of State under the plane. It is a tool that the government considers necessary so that demand does not increase. The core of the problem is what users pay in relation to the value of generation. In each case there are three categories: N1, N2 and N3. The first ones contribute

The idea of ​​the government, apart from managing the demand for gas, is to discourage consumption and indirectly reduce the subsidy bill. For example, there are three types of users in the market: N1, N2 and N3.

The first ones pay around 65% of power generation ratewhile among others 5 and 7%. In the case of gas, N1 contributes 51% of the injection price, and N2 and N3, between 14 and 20%. In addition, a limit is applied to the latter that establishes that the rate cannot be increased above a percentage of the wage variation coefficient (CVS).

“There is no money”Miley said in December. And from that moment on, officials focused on energy began working on reducing subsidies. An important step was taken today: the possibility of replacing the entire existing scheme was left open. If the official plans succeed, In a year, it will fix a single price for everyone. And it would be a matter of public policy to establish who should benefit, whether because of income or because the climate requires a special rate.

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