The unexpected Advancement of the polar wave in the central area of the country has generated an abrupt increase in the demand for natural gas, forcing the Government to take drastic measures to avoid supply problems.
The Cammesa companyresponsible for energy dispatch, has put out an emergency tender for the purchase of 12 shipments of fuel oil and diesel to face the increase in gas consumption.
The Ministry of Energy had scheduled the arrival of low temperatures for the first week of June, but the cold came ahead, taking the authorities by surprise.
Demand for gas by homes and businesses, classified as “priority demand”, has skyrocketed, reaching almost 80 million cubic meters per day, when normally in May a consumption of 45 million is recorded.
To mitigate this situation, The Government has decided to cut gas supplies to high-demand industries, such as wood, ceramics and plastics.. This measure seeks to avoid power outages, since many power generation plants use gas as an input.
Since last week, the lack of gas has already affected Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) service stations with interruptible contracts.
In Córdoba, several industries They have begun to receive orders to interrupt gas consumption for their production processes. A director of the Industrial Union of Córdoba (UIC) confirmed that the entity has registered several cases of gas outages due to lack of fluid in the system.
The emergency scenario was caused by temperatures much lower than expected for this time of year.
The situation has highlighted the need to review and adjust gas supply and storage strategies to prevent future imbalances in demand and guarantee the continuity of service to priority users.
