The National Administration of Power Plants and Electric Transmissions (UTE) launched a new economic benefit for all those customers who use the irrigation for productive purposes, a measure that will be carried out outside the harvest months, that is, between the current month and the next.
In the middle of the months of April and May, a time when energy consumption for irrigation increases, UTE decided to provide a benefit for producers. To which is added the initial discount that the company had proposed, which began in November of last year and will remain in force until October of this year.
This benefit includes a discount 50% for producers who consume electricity for irrigation during this month and the next, in the period outside the harvest.
How to access the discount and how is it applied?
The discount applies from a Reference Consumption of the months of April and May. This is calculated through the average daily consumption in the same months between 2019 and 2023.
To determine what the discount will be, customers must multiply the average daily consumption by the days of the monthly consumption period. It is found on the invoice UTE.
On the other hand, the discount can be accessed by all customers who are registered in the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP) and are authorized to use irrigation for productive purposes.
Meanwhile, those users who need to request permission through the ministry must send an email to the regional offices of the General Directorate of Natural Resources of the MGAP.
To obtain the permit, the email must have the following information: the subject (with the name “Commercial discount for productive irrigation in the harvest”), name, telephone number, owner of the irrigation project, MGAP resolution number, validity of the permit , count of UTE (the Account and Service Agreement numbers), UTE service agreement, department, hydraulic works register and benefited irrigation area.
The MGAP prepares for a possible new drought
In an interview with radio Sarandí, the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Fernando Mattosassured that “during this period of government a lot of progress was made” in terms of irrigation, but that “the rate of growth of irrigation systems incorporated into production” is not what they intended, despite having incorporated “some 30,000 hectares of irrigation system.” irrigation”, an increase in the order of 10%.
“I understand that this growth can be much greater,” said the minister after confirming that the historic drought that lived Uruguay between 2022 and 2023 as a result of the past La Niña phenomenon cost the country more than 1.8 billion dollars, and the agricultural emergency still persists for the horticultural sector due to inclement wind.
On the other hand, the transition from the El Niño phenomenon, which is now in its final phase, to La Niña is expected to occur abruptly, according to experts in the region.
La Niña that could appear in the coming months with Oscillations in rainfall and drought patternsas well as a strong hurricane season in other parts of the planet, according to technicians from a specialized panel of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
These experts agreed that the transition periods between the two phenomena that occurred in previous decades no longer occur and that this shortens the time for the communities currently affected by El Niño to recover quickly.
Source: Ambito
