The government began last year a process of change for the super gas market. The most important aspect was the closure of a period of packaging contracts in the two Ancap plants. In addition, it entrusted the Regulatory Unit of Energy and Water Services (Ursea) to approve a regulation for the sector that should be in force from March 1. That same day the new leasing contracts for the bottling plants begin and a Greater competition between distribution companies that can generate changes in the sale price of 13-kilo bottles.
On Thursday, December 22, Ancap resolved to award the lease for the two supergas bottling plants. One was left in the hands of acodike for five years and the other was for Riogas for eight years.
The lease for the two plants will be effective as of March 1 of this year, one day after the expiration of the current ones that included packaging, supply and market regulation conditions agreed in 2007.
The public company reported that day that the new rental contracts ensured “normality in the supergas packaging provided by Ancap to all distributors in the market: Ducsa, Acodike, Megal and Riogas.”
The president of Ancap, Alejandro Stipanicic, said at that time that there were “very regulatory restrictions signed by three of the five market players: Acodike, Ancap and Riogas. And Ducsa and Megal were left out ”.
Leonardo Carreno
13 kilo jugs
Since 2007 the plants were leased by Gasur (40% owned by Ancap, 30% by Acodike and 30% by Riogas). Ancap as supplier of all the supergas and the other two companies as bottlers and distributors.
That contract established that Ancap had to pay for the investments made in the two plants and also included the calculation of the packaging and distributor margin and exclusivity. Then, Ducsa (without its own plant) and Megal (which has one of its own) had to accept the conditions imposed in the current contracts even if they were not convenient for them.
In dialogue with the program “Who is who”, which is broadcast on Channel 5 and Diamante FM, Stipanicic indicated that basically three market players regulated all the rules for the behavior of the supergas market above Ducsa (owned by Ancap) and Megal.
“Ducsa was conditioned by the contract that forced it to pack under certain conditions with Acodike and Riogas, which are its competitors. The agreed rules applied to Megal as well,” she noted.
The new leases open up opportunities for Ducsa, which now has three potential supergas suppliers.
Stipanicic said that after a call to be made this month, Ducsa will surely contract the 13-kilo jug packaging service with at least two companies.
“There will be greater competitiveness and surely we will have some economic benefit that can be transferred to Ducsa’s carafes. This benefit can also reach Megal and the other two, depending on the packaging contracts they close”, he expressed.
The president of the public company indicated that we will have to wait for the competitive reaction of the market. “One thing is the price that Ancap charges (for supergas) and another is the price that Ducsa can charge (as a distributor). Ducsa is independent and will try to transfer a competitive offer to its customers“, said.
Likewise, Stipanicic clarified: “I am not going to make a communication error by saying that the price (of the 13-kilo bottle) is going to drop. I can’t say because I don’t know how the market is going to behave. I can’t be certain of that.”
“What will happen is that The competitive intensity is going to lead to the four that today are tied hand and foot, each one of them beginning to take different commercial actions”, he concluded.
