This week it was indicated on Radio Nacional that on the 13th “there was a historic peak in energy consumption”, it reached “42,636 MWh”. The previous record was on December 9, 2022 with “42,215 MWh of consumption”. These data led EL ECO to ask Cardona, a representative for the Broad Front on the UTE Board, if there is a plan so that the town does not have to pay so much for energy due to extreme temperatures, and he replied that “for the moment No”.
Without the solar energy that had been programmed
“I am a minority on the board, but I have been saying that we must invest in solar energy. If the plant that the previous government had planned had been built, in these days of sun and intense heat, it could be supplied with this energy, and it would help a lot to avoid having to buy fuel and hydraulic water from Brazil, and costs would be lower for the UTE”, according to Cardona.
What role does wind power play? And he replied that “it is the star, it allows us not to have to buy more fuel yet”, and at night the surplus is sold to Argentina.
Climate change causes new concerns worldwide, and “in Uruguay we cannot take any longer to implement solar energy,” he reiterated.
The fixed charge
There is a plan promoted by the Entity so that the user opts for a fixed monthly fee on the bill, and after 12 months make the readjustment, if more is spent, it would be charged in 12 installments together with the bill for the year 2024. “To do this, we need people to be informed month by month of what they spend, to know what the difference in cost will be at the end of the year, and not find surprises that are difficult to pay for. The pilot plan will begin to be applied from April, and initially with a limit of 50,000 users who want to join.
Households pay for all
For a large number of users, the value of electricity is an issue that affects the family economy, Cardona said that last December “we proposed that if they wanted to raise the rates they should do so below the CPI (Consumer Price Index), but do not upload it for homes in order to give it a break. Households are the ones that sustain the costs because UTE subsidizes large stores, large customers.
