The official had requested at the beginning of the week by letter to the president Alberto Fernandezthat the Minister of Economy, Martin Guzmanrelease the money earmarked for your area. “In the exercise of my duties as Secretary of Energy, aware of the needs that must be met during the current month to maintain essential basic services and critical activities related to my area, I hereby reject the cut imposed by the Ceilings of Caja, warning about the disastrous consequences for the country that this implies”, Martínez said in the official letter, which was also sent to the head of the Cabinet of Ministers, John Manzur.
Martínez initially warned that the Ministry of Economy – to which the Secretariat depends – considerably reduced the budget for his area and, consequently, that there were not enough resources to pay for the energy needed for March. According to the Secretary of Energy, Martín Guzmán had applied what is known as the Cash Ceiling to the monthly budget and instead of drawing $309,802 million in March, as requested, he sent $66,015 million, just 21% of what was requested. In this framework, Martínez assured that the budget that his Secretariat had at that time is not enough, “given that they do not respond to the basic requirements of the area and whose implementation will have immediate harmful consequences for the country.”
“Consider that the $66,015 million of the ceiling mentioned, would not even be enough to cover the gas payment that we import from Bolivia, the LNG carrier acquired by IEASA to cover the gas shortage caused temporarily by a technical shutdown of a planned treatment plant, and the 17 diesel boats that CAMMESA contracted to supply the thermal power plants and their deposits that are at minimum levels, all ships that will enter the port during March; leaving absolutely unfinanced all the rest of the obligations of the Ministry of Energy”pointed out Darío Martínez.
And in this context, he warned that, without funds, it would take longer to President Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline, a “work that was publicly announced by the National Government as the appropriate and necessary solution to increase the domestic production of natural gas from Vaca Muerta, which has been reiterated as a fundamental milestone in the scope of CERA Week in Houston” . Disbursements of $58,000 million for the gas pipeline were expected for this month.
Official sources consulted by this media spoke that this situation could lead to the breakdown of the chain of payments and supply of electricity to the provinces of the North of the country, aggravated by the international context after the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Likewise, without the money, the funds could not be transferred to Anses, to attend to the Hogar Program that moderates the cost of bottled Gas to the lower-income sectors, nor could the money destined to maintain the Social Rate of natural gas be transferred.
But they also warned that without the funds there would be a “system breakdown” in the weeks prior to the start of the winter season. In the letter, which is dated last tuesday march 15Martínez warned that the budget shortage would prevent paying the shipments of LNG and diesel, which were contracted to arrive in the country during March and that must be attended in dollars, in advance.
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excel energy
He also assured that a possible energy crisis would ensue due to the lack of fuel to feed the country’s thermal power plants and the payment in dollars demanded by the Bolivian gas supply could not be made.
The sources added that in addition, another consequence could be the lack of fuel at service stations, since crude oil must also be imported to refine in the country.
Funds for Energy are guaranteed
However, shortly after the request by letter was made public, Secretary Martínez himself confirmed that he is already working with the Ministry of Economy to unlock the funds. “There is a permanent administrative round trip with the Treasury and the Economy, in terms of the requirement of funds and programming and rescheduling of the monthly ceilings, as well as the payments to be made, the usual exercise of all the divisions of the National State, which are adjusted to the extent of the general availability of funds from the Treasury, and it is common for the ceilings to be raised or modified depending on the notes of each division, as occurred in this case”he claimed.
The secretary reported that together with the Minister of Economy “We are carefully and concernedly analyzing the international situation regarding energy prices, as well as the mechanisms so that this situation has the least possible impact on our country”said.
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Martínez affirmed in dialogue with C5N that “The crisis derived from the war in Ukraine, which we all want to end immediately, has a global impact of an unpredictable magnitude, one of them, raising the price of energy commodities to unknown values.”
The official maintained that the production of national gas as a result of the Gas.Ar Plan, added to the usual supplements of LNG as the usual support for the system, and diesel oil to replenish the stocks of the thermal power plants, guarantee the “normal supply of energy in the country”.
“To this we must add the brave and determined decision of President Alberto Fernández and Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to have implemented the Gas.AR Plan and to build the Néstor Kirchner Gas Pipeline and all its complementary works, to expand the gas transportation network. , and significantly improve in this way, the possibility of our country to defend ourselves from these global crises”, added Martínez.
Source: Ambito
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