The problems of the Edesur power line -which killed thousands of homes in the recent heat wave- They return to serve the government to hold guilty of their obstacles. Sergio Massa was silent on the February inflation data (6.6%), but on Monday he gave a presentation in which he tried to be forceful in the face of the blackouts.
It is the third time that the Executive has resorted to a ploy to install certain issues in public opinion. Since he can’t find the words to justify the high inflation, The move to demonize a privatization dealer, possibly a foreign one, is becoming commonplace.
Minister Massa presents himself as an official who listens to companies. In this sense, he would seem to clash with the core of the ultra-Christian affair, where companies are guilty of all evils. With Edesur there is a common space: both sectors can hurl themselves without disturbing the other.
Edesur It has an electrical grid that goes underground. It’s different than Edenor’s, which is airborne. The repairs to that harness are costly. In the last two decades, the electricity regulatory framework, i.e. the rules in which companies operate, was applied in only two years: 2017 and 2018. That is, companies only had income to make investments during those two years.
The Edesur network has shortcomings, as evidenced by each heat spike. Is the state able to make claims in this regard? Since 2002, the national government has not respected public service concessions. “Rate reviews have been violated since 2019,” the company exercises whenever the government criticizes it.
Electricity bill increases have been below inflation in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Perhaps they will keep pace with the cost of living this year. The 2016-2018 recompositions followed a 2002-2015 semi-freeze period.
“People want the system to work as if it were Europe, but with Argentine tariffs,” energy experts joke.
Massa had the task of underlining this “ownership is not affected” of the company. In other words, Italy’s Enel will continue to own 75% of the company.
“Ferraresi will not take over the operations of the company,” explained Royón. “It will ensure committed investments are made”said the official.
The first inflation figures from Massa’s tenure as economy minister were released on 14 September. The former deputy had assumed office in the first days of August. During that month, inflation was 7% a month. However, on the day this information was disclosed, the government had prepared a criminal complaint against Abertis, the Autopistas del Sol concessionaire.
The method is replica Tuesday 14 February. That was when the January inflation data was known. Over the previous weekend – and also the day before the data was released – Edesur experienced power outages to more than 185,000 homes. More than enough for the political wing of the Frente de Todos to come forward to demand the expropriation of the company and the revocation of the concession.
Wednesday 15 February, which could have been a day dominated by inflation that does not go down, ended up having the fate of the owners of Edesur as protagonists of the day.
February’s inflation data – known in March, with a rise of 6.6% that surprised even the most pessimistic – coincided with the latest heat wave. There, the power outages spread to thousands of homes, and lasted longer than on previous occasions. The daily damage to the houses was immeasurable.
In the plans of Massa there is no expropriation of Autopistas del Sol or Edesur. The minister is aware that Edesur is for sale. In the Frente de Todos they fear that this stake will remain in the hands of Nicolas Caputo, a friend of former president Mauricio Macri. In that space, they would prefer the power company to go into other national hands.
“Argentina It has the most bizarre regulation in the world”. said Francesco Starace, CEO of Italy’s Enel at Harvard. It was when they asked him why the company was leaving Argentina. His statements fell badly in the executive branch. So, he added credit so that the ruling party continues to demonize the company.
Source: Clarin
