The provincial Minister of Energy, Alejandro Aguirre, warned that high consumption due to low temperatures affects the gas pressure that the power plant in Ushuaia is receiving, which “forces us to schedule rotating cuts in electrical energy in the city.”
As the official explained, there are once again problems in the generation of electricity for the city of Ushuaia, since “we are registering a very low pressure in the gas pipeline that enters the plant.”
He exemplified in this sense that “usually 29 bar of pressure is received with what works normally, however in the last few hours it has reached less than 22 bar, with this we are at risk since if we reach 22 bar the alarms start. to ring in the Plant, because with less than 20 bar, the Rolls Royce turbine stops its production immediately.”
This is as a consequence of various factors, which is made worse by knowing that the entire region is being punished by this polar front and low temperatures, therefore the demand for gas is greater than usual in other winters.
“In addition, problems have been recorded in the gas production fields, since due to the very low temperatures, the formation of hydrates occurs in the entry lines to the compressors of the treatment plants that must be injected into the main gas pipelines, affecting normal gas volumes,” he added.
“It is a complex situation that is generated by many factors, but they all have to do with consumption due to the intense cold that is being endured in much of the country, and especially in our province. Therefore, we find ourselves in the difficult decision of rotating power supply cuts to contain the pressure.
until the situation normalizes,” Aguirre explained.
It is worth remembering that, according to the National Meteorological Service, Tierra del Fuego is still on “Red Alert”, due to extreme temperatures, and a similar situation is being recorded throughout Patagonia with similar consequences and high gas consumption.
