Argentina Repeals Privatizations from Macri's Administration

The president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, repealed the privatizations of energy companies and thermal power plants carried out by his predecessor Mauricio Macri (2015-2019), which ended in transferring two thermal power plants.

It has been through a decree signed June 16th by President Fernandez, through which several decisions signed by Macri and his then Energy Minister Juan Jose Aranguren were annulled. As a result, the privatization orders of companies such as Dioxitek, Transener, and the Manuel Belgrano and San Martin thermal power plants are now reversed.

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It also recovers the management of Integración Energética Argentina (Ileasa and Enarsa) over the importation of gas from Bolivia. It assigns the corresponding exploratory permits to these companies in the West Malvinas Basin of the Argentine Sea.

Macri's previous decree ordered the "sale, assignment or transfer of the state-owned shares of Citelec (which controls Transener) wherein the State shares participation with Pampa Energía."

Fernández's decree determined that the public works of the Santa Cruz river hydroelectric development project will resume their names of President Néstor Kirchner, for the one located in Cóndor Cliff, and of Gobernador Jorge Cepernic, for the one found in Barrancosa, which Macri's government renamed.

"Yesterday, the anniversary of the general blackout we suffered during Macri's government. Yesterday also, the National Government decided to recover Integración Energética Argentina S.A. @IEASAoficial. Energy Sovereignty."

The decree provides for the granting of guarantees from the National Treasury for the acquisition of natural gas from Bolivia, for a maximum amount of US$ 200 million, which Macri suspended during the administration of Bolivian President Evo Morales.

Fernández's administration clarified that to guarantee "the normal supply of natural gas" in Argentina during the winter, it is necessary to import gas from Bolivia.

On the other hand, using the same decree, the government left without effect the change of denomination of the public works in the Santa Cruz river hydroelectric exploitation project, which was ordered in 2017.