Emilio Apud: "Thanks to the investments, we now have 10% additional reserve energy at the peak of demand"

Former Energy Secretary Emilio Apud was questioned about
the blackout that affected the entire country.

-The Secretary of Energy said that there was no warning about this failure. This is possible?

– Yes, in the event of a failure, an automatic protection system is designed to protect the network against the multiple possibilities of failure. We must take into account the complexity of
SADI, Argentine interconnection system, or also INS, national interconnected system. It is integrated by thousands of kilometers of high voltage lines at 500 KV (LAT); the entire thermal park, with about 30,000 MW of power; processing stations and control and dispatch centers, which serve the entire Argentine territory, with the exception of the province of Tierra del Fuego, for the time being.

-When we talk about the investments made in the system, what percentage did the energy transportation system take from them?

– The transportation system has required ordinary investments for its normal development and peripheral works are being completed to ensure a secure supply to the various consumption centers of the country. In the elements of the SIN, the investment effort was focused on production, as Kirchner management left the system unreserved, which was one of the causes of the company's frequent cuts. until recently. Today, with the investments made, at the peak of the annual demand, there is already an additional reserve of 10%. When the collapse occurred yesterday, this reserve was 20%.

– Why could not the error be isolated?

– As long as the causes and the response logic of the protection system are not completely known, it is impossible to badume if it is possible to isolate a possible error.

-What could have happened?

-With the information available at the moment, before the release of service for the maintenance of one of the LATs from Yacyreta, it is highly likely that, due to a failure in which he has absorbed his load transiently, These power plants were powered, frequency protections jumped due to sudden falls in the load of these plants. They then decommissioned, removing 30% NAS from the production offering, activating the protection of other plants against overcharging, generating a cascading service point throughout the production fleet.

– Do you think this will lead to a simple rectification or will there be significant investments and changes in the system?

-It is not necessary to make significant investments or modifications in the SIN, other than those provided in the current work plan. Yes, perhaps with the results of the badysis of causes and responses to the incident, adjustments may be needed in the programs and algorithms of the protection system.

– To whom could the sanctions be directed?

-If the sanctions correspond to natural or legal persons, the procedure is specified in the contracts and regulations of the regulator.

– At the government press conference, there was talk of a robust system of energy production and transportation. It's like that?

-From what I said before, I share Lopetegui's opinion, but perhaps using the terms solid and reliable for the NAS.