A Government Appeal was granted.
The Federal Justice ordered the seizure of almost 1,000 million pesos from the firm Hidroeléctrica Tucumán SA, concessionaire of the Celestino Gelsi Hydroelectric Development Complex, by allowing an appeal filed by the Government of the Province within the framework of the works being carried out in one of the El Cadillal dams.
The federal judge José Manuel Díaz Vélez It had already placed a seizure for that amount, but on movable and immovable property of the Wholesale Electricity Market Administration Company (Cammesa), which is an intermediary in relation to the services it provides and which in turn pays Hidroeléctrica Tucumán SA. However, through the State Prosecutor’s Office that conducts Gilda Pedicone de Vallsit was appealed since it is intended to preventively seize the payments that the defendant company has to receive from Cammesa, as well as accounts, savings accounts or certificates of fixed-term deposits, public securities, shares and other funds or securities not monetary or safe deposit boxes owned by Hidroeléctrica Tucumán SA
The resolution was made by the members of the Federal Court of Appeals, with the vote of Ricardo Sanjuan, Marina Cossio, Mario Leal, Patricia Molteni and Fernando Poviña.
The Government intends for the firm to pay the total amount of what the State had to spend to carry out the works. The lawsuit recalled that “by Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) No. 1/8 of January 17, 2023, the repair of the El Cadillal dam was authorized, so that the Province assumed the work, after contracting directly and price comparison.
Article 4 of the DNU states: ‘The Executive Branch will carry out all the procedures and actions aimed at recovering the funds invested before the company Hidroeléctrica de Tucumán SA and/or before whomever corresponds and to claim any damages that may be generated’. says the text. The company has operated the concession for 30 years, since July 3, 1996.
When the Province began to request reports to enforce Judge Díaz Vélez’s ruling, it found that the company does not have real estate, and only has a fleet of 25 cars scattered throughout the country, apparently in poor condition. And that is why it was decided to appeal not the embargo itself, but the form. “This is money spent by the Provincial State – in response to the company’s evasion of contractual responsibility – and in the face of the danger suffered by the Dam and the risk to the provision of drinking water,” they said in the Province.
“In the limited scope of analysis of a precautionary measure we can, however, note and it is easily verifiable, that the appellant (the Province) is right that the registrable movable assets do not minimally cover the amount over which “The first instance judge granted the embargo,” stated the chambermaids.
For this reason, “the embargo ordered by the judge must be imposed on sums of money that the defendant has to receive from Cammesa and on sums of money that it has in bank accounts, savings accounts or fixed-term deposit certificates, public securities and shares. . All of this for the available amount of $936,660,939.57,” they added.
“For these purposes – they considered – once the file is returned to the first instance, the Judge must take the necessary measures to block the seizure ordered here and, with respect to the sums deposited in banking entities, issue a letter to the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic so that it informs which are the entities in which Hidroeléctrica Tucumán SA has accounts, savings accounts or fixed-term deposit certificates, public securities and shares.
The repair work began on March 16, 2023 and was abruptly cut off on October 20 after the end of the original deadline established in the contract with the Transitory Union of Companies Sabavisa SA and Mercovial SA. During that period, the repair work on the lateral dam No. 3 was paralyzed at 50%.
