The growth in energy demand in San Juan requires stronger industrial safety measures. Engineer Alejandro Albarellos warned about the risks of arc flash and highlighted the need for engineering studies, ongoing training and specific protective equipment to prevent accidents.
By Panorama Minero
The steady growth in energy consumption in San Juan poses new challenges for industrial and public safety. Against this backdrop, Alejandro Albarellos, engineer and President of PYRE S.A., led a technical presentation at EPSE – Energía Provincial Sociedad del Estado, aimed at industry representatives and focused on preventive training regarding arc flash risks associated with high energy demand.
The specialist noted that electrical safety regulations have focused on preventing accidents caused by direct contact, as these are the most frequent. However, he warned that arc flash represents an equally serious and destructive hazard, whose occurrence is more closely associated with the presence of high power levels than with high voltages themselves.
This risk is becoming critical due to the energy expansion underway in the province. On the one hand, San Juan is facing the arrival of major mining projects with extremely high energy requirements. This dynamic is therefore driving exponential growth across the entire chain, including industrial suppliers, new businesses, construction projects and a direct increase in residential consumption. According to Albarellos, improvements in quality of life and the adoption of climate-control equipment—which can potentially double a household’s usual consumption—point to energy demand that could multiply in the short term.
To mitigate the effects of this phenomenon and prevent serious consequences for facilities, industries and homes, the engineer explained that arc flash must be analyzed from a mathematical perspective and in accordance with international standards. The preventive process requires specific engineering studies for each scenario in order to accurately determine the existing arc flash level.
Based on this assessment, organizations must implement mitigation measures aimed at designing safe working environments, providing operators with ongoing training in safe operating procedures, and supplying technical clothing and personal protective equipment specifically suited to the estimated level of exposure. In this way, the aim is to ensure that workers have the necessary tools and safety equipment to return home safely in the event of any technical or human failure at the facilities.
Arc flash, definition: An arc flash is a continuous, luminous electrical discharge that occurs when current passes through a gas (normally air) between two conductors or electrodes with a potential difference, ionizing the medium and forming a conductive plasma channel.
