THE electricity bills will go upAt least, twice this year in the City of Buenos Aires and in the Conurbano. The first increment will be from April 1st and will start next on June 1st. The Energy Secretary advised that the April increase will account for about $400while June will average $800.
However, a calculation made by the consultancy firm Economía & Energía proves it the increases will be from 19% to 48%depending on the category of households in the grant register.
High-income families without subsidies
For segments N1 (high incomethose who have not applied for subsidies or want to continue saving in dollars), the increase will be on average 19%. An average ticket in that segment will range from $4,375 to $5,200 monthly, according to Economy and Regions, the consultancy led by Nicholas Arceo.
In any case, within N1 customers -more than a third of the standard-, the increases will also be modified according to their consumption levels. Clients named R1-R2-R3 (low electricity demand) will see an increase of between 12% and 15%. A bill that is $3,500 today will go up to $4,000, or a $5,700 bill will go up to $6,400.
The increase will be felt more inside houses with the greatest demand. They are categories from R7 to R9. To get an idea, they would already be paying over $10,000. There, the increase will be closer to 30%. A $12,000 ticket will stretch to $16,000 e a bill that is now around $17,000 will increase to $22,000.
Middle-income families
middle income families will register a 30% increase. They are called N3. They are customers who have asked to be held part of the subsidiesbecause family income was under $360,000 when segmentation was launched, mid-year.
These families will continue to enjoy substantial discounts on the cost of electricity. This component, which represents half of the bill, is the one that is no longer subsidized by the state in the upper brackets. The media will keep the discounts paid by the national state.
In Buenos Aires electricity bills, almost half of what is paid is the electricity cost. Distributors and carriers – those who bring electricity to homes and businesses – retain just over a quarter of the ticket (27%). The rest are taxes.
A “median” utility bill — a “category average” — will range from $2,700 to $3,500 in middle-income households. Again, the impact will differ depending on consumption.
An R4 (average request) will rise from $3,500 to $4,500, and an R6 (medium-high demand) will rise from $6,000 to $7,000 per month, according to the Economics and Energy work.
Low-income families
Low-income families who are listed on the grant register are called N2. The state will follow subsidizing almost the entire cost of electricity. But they will have to pay almost 50% more than what they were paying for the services of distributors who go to their home.
In any case we start from lower grades. No customer called N2 – there are more than half of them in the suburbs – will pay more than $4,000 in categories R1 to R5, i.e. low and medium consumption.
Lots of these houses they do not have access to the gas network, so its electricity consumption is higher than that of homes that can be heated or cooked with natural gas. A so-called “low-income” family. Will Go from $3,700-a-month Electricity Allocation to $5,500 in Aprilin the R5 category, of medium demand.
To illustrate the difference caused by subsidies, we can take R7 consumption, which is a high demand for electricity. In a high-income household, the bill will be $16,000, while in a “low” income household, it will reach $9,300. Still, that’s a 57% increase over the $5,900 a month you’d pay for that bill today.
Source: Clarin
