Blackout in Argentina: for an Italian media outlet, the local network is "obsolete"

The Italian media echoed the generalized power outage That left all Argentina, Uruguay and part of Brazil without electricity last Sunday, June 16th.

In its edition of this Tuesday Il Fatto Quotidiano summarizes the country's energy situation and underlines the fact that part of the system in question belongs to In the, a power distribution company in the Italian capital, arrived in the country in 1992 during the privatization of Menem.

In this context, the European environment speaks of a network "obsolete and in a hurry" with "little investment despite price increases".

"During the blackout that lasted 14 hours and affected 50 million people, many Argentineans recalled the cuts, of a lesser magnitude, that occurred in 1982 during the Malvinas war, and then in the kirchnerist governments (2003). -2015) and, more recently, with Mauricio Macri, when, last summer, the outlying districts of Buenos Aires suffered power cuts lasting several days, provoking demonstrations by citizens, "the article said.

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"Until 2015 and on the decision of former Argentine President Néstor Kirchner, the state was involved in the energy sector with subsidies covering 80% of the cost of bills: a fact that , in practice, represented a cost for users less than a cup of coffee, "he says.

And he continues: "But, at the same time, it caused sudden power outages due in part to the excessive use of household appliances." In 2015, with Macri's triumph in power, it was decided to gradually reduce these subsidies.

"It is as well that the then Minister of Energy, Juan José Aranguren, has started a series of tariff increases that, with respect to electricity, have reached more 500% in Buenos Aires and 250% in the rest of the world, "he describes.

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Likewise, the article refers to Edesur, the energy distributor owned by Enel. "Edesur has invested heavily in recent years in order to modernize its network, while a wind power project is starting in the province of Chubut in order to exploit the huge energy capital produced by the companies. winds from this region, "he said.

Finally, the Italian newspaper acknowledges that "what worries most users is that, faced with costs that weigh heavily on family budgets, the supply of electricity continues to produce power cuts, which is totally unjustified in view of the profits made in 2019. Expect 180 million euros. "

MS / CP