Argentina’s Undersecretariat of Electricity published in the Official Gazette an application by Minera San Jorge S.A., the company responsible for PSJ Cobre Mendocino, to be recognised as a participant in the Wholesale Electricity Market (MEM) under the category of Major Large User (GUMA), effective from 1 November 2026. The designated supply point is located on Provincial Route 149 in Uspallata, with Distrocuyo S.A. identified as the provider of technical transmission services.
By Panorama Minero
The application adds the commercial component to an electricity supply scheme being developed in stages: a 220 kV transmission line agreed with Distrocuyo, a dedicated substation within the project area and a connection hub, Mendoza Norte, whose tender process remains ongoing. The same corridor has also emerged as an alternative electricity supply route for Los Azules in San Juan.
What Minera San Jorge Applied For
The notification is being processed under Annex 17 of former Secretariat of Energy Resolution 137/92, which requires applications for registration to be communicated to MEM participants.
The notice, signed by the National Director of Electricity Sector Regulation and Development, Marcelo Positino, includes a list of new large electricity users: six GUMA and approximately 97 Minor Large Users (GUME).
Minera San Jorge appears under the identifier MISJUSMZ and is the only mining project among the GUMA applicants.
The other companies in this category are Los Cipreses S.A., YPF S.A., Plaza Logística S.R.L., Molfino Hnos. S.A. and Arre Beef S.A.
The company has not yet disclosed the electricity capacity it intends to contract or the projected demand profile for the operation.
The 220 kV Connection
In December 2025, Minera San Jorge and Distrocuyo signed an agreement to develop a new 220 kV high-voltage transmission line between the Mendoza Norte Substation and the future San Jorge 220/33 kV Substation, which will be built within the project area.
The step-down to 33 kV will supply the concentrator plant, designed to process 10 million tonnes of copper and gold ore annually.
Distrocuyo is responsible for the electrical studies, route definition and permitting, with the scheme currently at the conceptual engineering stage.
The investment plan approved under the Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI) through Ministry of Economy Resolution 801/2026 establishes the start of construction in June 2027 and the commencement of commercial operations in January 2029.
Registration as a GUMA would therefore precede the concentrator’s electricity demand by more than two years.
Mendoza Norte: The Connection Hub
PSJ’s transmission line depends on the Mendoza Norte 220/132 kV Substation, tendered through FOPIATZAD with an official budget of US$48,657,769 and a construction period of 24 months.
The project involves connecting the new substation to the existing 220 kV Cruz de Piedra–San Juan line, constructing the new facility with 132 kV and 13.2 kV outgoing feeders, and linking it to the Las Heras Substation through 11.7 kilometres of double-circuit 132 kV overhead transmission line and an underground section of approximately 850 metres.
In addition to supplying PSJ, the project aims to relieve pressure on Greater Mendoza’s 132 kV network and provide additional capacity to meet industrial and mining electricity demand in the northern and western parts of the province.
Los Azules Activates the Mendoza Alternative
The corridor has a second potential user on the other side of the provincial border.
After Vicuña secured priority access to 90% of the remaining transmission capacity in northern San Juan, McEwen Copper activated an alternative electricity supply option for Los Azules from Mendoza.
This would involve extending the transmission infrastructure from the future San Jorge Substation towards Calingasta to connect with the Argentine Interconnected System (SADI).
The option is being considered alongside efforts to secure access through the national 500 kV transmission line, whose capacity allocation is under discussion at the federal level, and the company’s agreement with YPF Luz for renewable electricity supply.
This possibility extends the significance of PSJ’s infrastructure beyond the Mendoza project, linking it to the copper project portfolio in the San Juan Andes.
With the publication of the notice, PSJ Cobre Mendocino’s electricity supply arrangements now comprise four elements: the connection agreement with Distrocuyo, the Mendoza Norte hub currently under tender, the potential extension towards Los Azules and Minera San Jorge’s registration as an MEM participant.
The electricity capacity contracted by the company and the award of the Mendoza Norte tender will be the key decisions determining the timelines for the physical infrastructure works.
