Chile and Argentina agree energy exchange
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From now until September 30, 2023, Argentina will provide 300,000 m³ of gas to Chile per day.
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Chile will enable a transmission line in the northern part of the country, which will allow electricity to be exchanged with Argentina.
President Gabriel Boric made an important announcement on energy exchange alongside his Argentine counterpart, Alberto Fernández, during the ninth edition of the Summit of the Americas held in Los Angeles, California, USA.
From June this year, Argentina will export natural gas to Chile. This gas will supply the Pacific Gas Pipeline for the Biobío and Ñuble regions, covering the cities of Chillán, Los Ángeles and Concepción. 300,000 cubic meters of natural gas will be provided daily during this year through to September 30, 2023.
“More than 30,000 families from Concepción and Los Ángeles will see a decrease of approximately 15% in their pipeline gas bills, which will come into effect in late June and early July. We are also overseeing a similar price reduction for the city of Chillán. This is essential to help families in Chile in a context of global inflation,” explained Energy Minister Claudio Huepe.
At the same time, a tender was launched for Argentine companies to provide four million cubic meters of firm natural gas per day from the Neuquén gas field to Chile.
The agreement also considers the possibility of importing and exporting electricity between Chile and Argentina via the Andes-Cobos transmission line (345 kV), which has been out of operation since 2017. Therefore, through the signing of a decree issued by the Energy Ministry, the exchange of energy between the electrical systems of both countries is once more authorized.
The interesting thing about this measure is that Chile will export electricity from solar energy excess production. An energy exchange will thus take place, decreasing operating costs and increasing security. Both Chilean and Argentine electrical systems will benefit from this.
Chile’s Energy Minister Claudio Huepe highlighted that these initiatives “undoubtedly favor regional integration and energy exchange. Today, Chile is moving forward in energy integration with the region, which will help guarantee supply security. This will also allow us to promote bilateral exchanges of electricity and gas with the consequent cost savings for both countries, showing that we can complement each other through energy and demonstrating the great relationship we have with our neighbors.”