The Ersept controller anticipated that they began negotiations with the Nation so that the three Tucumán power plants return to state hands
The hydroelectric concessions that were granted for 30 years during Menemism are beginning to become extinct. At the national level, there are more than fifteen privatizations that will expire, of which three will fall in the province in 2026. Although there are two years left, the brand new auditor of the Tucumán Public Services Regulatory Entity (Ersept), José Ricardo Ascárateanticipated that the exploitation of hydroelectric plants, including that of the El Cadillal dam, will once again be in Tucumán hands.
As the radical explained in the LG PLAY studios, last week he traveled to Buenos Aires with the minister Santiago Yanotti (Public Works and Services) and held an interview with the Secretary of Energy of the Nation, Eduardo Javier Rodríguez Chirillo. “We asked him to work on this issue so that the dam and the hydroelectric plant return to the Province of Tucumán,” he said. He stated that the national official appointed a group of employees to work on the return. “This will allow us to manage an energy quota for the development of new works or for rate improvements,” he said.
The concession of the company Hidroeléctrica de Tucumán SA expires on July 30, 2026. It includes the hydroelectric plants of El Cadillal (Tafí Viejo), Escaba (Alberdi) and Pueblo Viejo (Monteros). According to information on the official website of the Dam Safety Regulatory Body (Orsep), the El Cadillal dam (commissioned in 1966) produces 48 gigawatts per year; Escaba (1948) 69 gigawatts per year; and Pueblo Viejo (1968) 43 gigawatts per year.
The Province maintains a legal dispute with the company Hidroeléctrica de Tucumán SA as a result of the work carried out in 2023 on the lateral dam No. 3 of El Cadillal, which had serious leaks. The Government intends for the firm to pay the total amount of what the State had to spend to carry out the works. The work was suspended in October of that year, with progress of 50%. Although all budgeted funds were spent, the dam was much more damaged than originally estimated.
Double power
Ascárate, appointed auditor of Ersept until October 2027, also stated during the interview that they managed to unblock another fundamental issue for Tucumán in Buenos Aires: the replacement of a 132-kilowatt double-strand cable, from El Bracho to Cevil Pozo (17 kilometers). . “The cable is in condition to be purchased. We are going to start work between this month and September, which is the time of lowest consumption. We are going to change one shortlist first and the other later. Next year we will have the capacity to double the energy we can transport. We would not have to have electricity problems,” he said.
Ascárate said that with these works the power that can be transmitted on said line will be doubled. He assured that they have authorization from the National Electricity Regulatory Entity, but that they detected homes that are under the high voltage line. “We have to evacuate. At the intersection of Route 9 there is a shed that has been placed under the line. There is also a subdivision that has been done between Banda del Río Salí and Alderetes. “It has been divided and the existing restriction on the line has not been transferred, which is a serious error by the Provincial Cadastre,” he indicated. He clarified that under a high voltage line there must be a restriction zone of 19 meters on each side, because there can be discharges. “It is a risk of life,” he warned.
