Faced with the suspension of the domestic natural gas public service in the southwestern part of the country, the unions of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas)commonly known as propane gas or gas cylinder, they say they can be a solution to avoid a crisis.
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Both the Colombian LPG Association (Gasnova) as the Colombian Association of Gas Marketers (aggregates) assured yesterday that they are an energy alternative and that they are working to minimize the supply emergency in the southwest of the country.
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“This crisis shows that the GLP it is an important energy alternative for homes, the industrial sector and commercial establishments, to the extent that it is available even under the most pressing circumstances”, affirmed Alejandro Martínez Villegas, president of Gasnova.
Propane gas for home use only
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The union leader stated that LPG prices are stable and that the companies are working with ecopetrol to supply the amounts of propane gas required to serve the departments affected by the interruption.
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Martínez added that “the distribution companies are working to mitigate the emergency in the departments of the Coffee Region (Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío), Cauca and Valle del Cauca. Users who have the technical possibility of making the change from natural gas to LPG will be supplied with this energy”.
For his part, since aggregates They said that the current LPG inventories are sufficient to support and guarantee the provision of the residential public service in this situation of natural gas supply failure. “It is important to make a call for tranquility to the population that goes out to look for energy supply. LPG deliveries in fields are currently normal by Ecopetrol and the logistics of the supply chain are fast and efficient,» the entity said.
Currently, LPG provides residential public service in 96 percent of the country, through a network of more than 70 companies
Felipe Gómez, director of the union, pointed out that the strengths of LPG as a portable energy source and with a high calorific value must be taken into account. «We are not only an alternative when natural gas fails, but every day for Colombian families,» he says.
At present, the GLP provides residential public service in 96 percent of the country, through a network of more than 70 companies, of which 29 cover the southwest.
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Historically, the LPG has been instrumental in supporting similar events, as well as what happened in October 2022, in cusianaOrinoquia field, where there was a one-week stoppage in natural gas, interrupting the supply and increasing the demand for LPG at a level of almost 10 percent, going from 60,000 to 65,000 tons/month, says the union.
«Another key issue that makes LPG a viable solution is that the recent high demand will not affect its cost other than the maximum published price, which is the maximum sale price for the corresponding period. An issue that undoubtedly for end users it is of great importance to sustain a contingency like the current one,» says Agremgas.