Natural gas distribution network in the northeast vulnerable

Monterrey, NL. The natural gas distribution network in the northeast of the country is vulnerable because demand exceeds supply and there is no maneuvering capacity in the event of a frost like the one that occurred in February 2021 in Texas, indicated César Cadena Cadena, president of the Nuevo León Energy Cluster.

“The National Center for Energy Control (Cenace) says that there is no maneuvering capacity, for example, I supply 80%, but I have 20% (stored), there would be no problem; When I supply 95%, anything can affect you, the problem is that the system crashes and starts protecting itself because everything is interconnected”, he asserted.

From February 13 to 15, 2021, a winter storm was observed throughout North Texas, which left the territory without power for several days, due to the combination of a cold air mass that rotated over the arctic, and dry weather by the La Niña phenomenon, according to specialists.

As a consequence, the supply of natural gas to various entities in the northeast of Mexico was suspended.

A survey in said period by Caintra Nuevo León with its partners revealed that 30% of the companies that use gas in their processes suffered some interruption in service and did not receive notice from the authorities.

Another challenge for the industry in the Northeast is that natural gas prices are expected to rise this month to above $7 per million BTU, according to the Ministry of Energy, while last November it was quoted at $6.47.

Due to the fact that energy is acquired via pipelines, the region with the highest prices between September and October was III, which includes Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, with 6.15 dollars per million BTU.

“During the year, gains in energy were mainly associated with downside risks to supply, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis in Europe that began after the coronavirus pandemic, and worsened with the invasion to Ukraine,” says a report by Grupo Financiero Base.

estados@eleconomista.mx