The Tierra del Fuego government has attempted to project an optimistic tone by announcing the start of construction on the foundations for Ushuaia's new 60-megawatt thermoelectric power plant, developed entirely with technology and financing from the People's Republic of China. However, behind the concrete structures that will house the Chinese-owned plant, the reality of the city's current electrical system reveals a scenario of extreme vulnerability for getting through the winter. The capital of Tierra del Fuego will once again depend on a "Plan B" based on equipment from the Provincial Roads Department and the consumption of millions of liters of fuel.

Ten buildings and Chinese technology

Everything is officially known, through the statements of the Minister of Energy, Gabriela Castillo ; who confirmed that the project financed by Chinese capital has passed the soil compensation stage —in an old quarry—, to begin with the foundations of the first three buildings of a complex that will have ten structures in total.

Details about the work in progress:

 A system "held together with wire"

While the city's energy future is being planned next to the "landfill," the present is worrying. Ushuaia currently generates a mere 37 megawatts , a figure Castillo acknowledged as "tight" in the face of ever-increasing consumption. The original plan to overhaul five turbines before the cold weather failed due to a lack of spare parts and administrative delays, with only one turbine being completed .

2 million liters of diesel

To maintain the precarious balance, and only for the months of June and July, the province has begun purchasing 2,000,000 liters of Grade 2 (regular) diesel . Although the fuel enjoys tax benefits throughout Patagonia, the expenditure is astronomical for a temporary measure.

At Patagonian wholesale market values for May 2026, the estimated investment exceeds $1.8 billion pesos .

Of course, liquid fuel—more expensive and polluting—will be burned to compensate for the lack of maintenance of the turbines that run on the gas that the province itself has in abundance.

Restrictions and "rationing"

The emergency deals another blow to the city's economic heartland. The minister confirmed that power restrictions are being applied to large users (industries, hotels, and businesses) between 6:00 PM and 11:00 PM. This de facto rationing is forcing factories to adjust shifts and hotels to limit services during the upcoming winter tourist season.

The Diario del Fin del Mundo reported in today's edition that Gabriela Castillo acknowledged that the system's operation continues to depend on the daily status of existing equipment. "This is a day-to-day, minute-by-minute situation as we progress," she stated.

The energy of the legitimate capital of the Malvina Islands hangs by a thread. Ushuaia enters the winter of 2026 "barely," held hostage by administrative negligence that transforms the lack of spare parts and repairs into a drain on already exhausted public funds.

Once again, the patch is more expensive than the long-term solution, the costs of which will affect the entire province, due to the financial crisis that the Melella administration is going through and which is destabilizing not only the entire provincial public administration, but also the three cities.