With a draft decree, the government of Abelardo De La Espriella seeks to avert a possible blackout, inherited from the Petro administration, in light of the El Niño phenomenon affecting the country.
This is one of the emergency measures adopted to ensure that thermal power plants have enough diesel to generate electricity during the El Niño phenomenon and avoid the blackout, which in just one hour could cost the country nearly 200 billion pesos, according to figures provided by the Colombian Association of Electric Power Generators (Acolgen).
The alarms
Despite the measures, sources in the energy sector told EL TIEMPO’s Investigative Unit that there are alarms about a possible diesel shortage that would directly impact the production of several key thermal power plants in the country and that would have several causes.
The aim of the decree being prepared by the De La Espriella government is to allow thermal power plants to purchase liquid fuels from more than one wholesale distributor when the reliability of the national electric system is at risk, breaking the exclusivity that by decree had to be maintained with a single wholesaler.
But the situation is revealing that several suppliers are having difficulties supplying their customers.
“Primax supplies diesel to most of the country’s thermal power plants, but due to the fuel shortage not only in Colombia, the ship that was supposed to arrive at the end of last week was delayed and it was not possible to deliver the fuel to Termocentro”, a source from the sector told EL TIEMPO’s Investigative Unit.
Termocentro is one of the main thermal power plants in the country, located in Cimitarra, Santander, which according to figures from XM, the energy market administrator, should supply 5,048 megawatt-hours (MWh) per day, equivalent to the energy consumed by a basic household for a year and a half.
The figures provided
EL TIEMPO’s Investigative Unit had access to the data that Termocentro has been submitting through XM’s Daily Information Report (IDO) system, which states that since September 14 the scheduled energy for dispatch is 0 (zero).
According to XM information, to produce the 5,048 megawatt-hours per day, Termocentro needs 6,562 barrels of diesel daily, which apparently it is not receiving.
“This is an issue that is starting to cause concern considering the critical situation of the country. Any thermal power plant, no matter how small, helps give Colombia an energy breather to reduce the load on hydroelectric plants“, a source familiar with the matter told EL TIEMPO.
And added: “Termocentro and all generators have to meet the system’s firm energy obligations they acquired. What they can also do is buy energy from a third party and guarantee delivery”.
EL TIEMPO persistently asked Óscar Gutiérrez, an executive at Termocentro, whether they were fulfilling energy delivery, but he assured they were in operation and could not respond: “We are entering a tremendous El Niño phenomenon. Stress for all agents”.
(Consult all articles from EL TIEMPO’s Investigative Unit here)
This newspaper also officially asked Primax about the alleged delay in fuel delivery and they said they would prepare a response, but by the time of this edition’s closing they had not replied.
In any case, there are alarms in the sector because it is not ruled out that other thermal power plants may start reporting fuel shortages.
INVESTIGATIVE UNIT
u.investigativa@eltimpo.com
@UinvestigativaET
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