The tariffs for the natural gas service will be defined starting from April with a new method of treatment of incentives. The Minister of Energy, Eduardo Rodríguez Chirillo, underlined that to guarantee “correct assignment“For starters, they will be determined based on a basic energy basket which covers the needs of users, “with different types of consumption in different areas of the country”.
In the first public hearing to determine the new gas rates, the official indicated that there will be a “new conceptualization” of the concessions, with a “gradual transfer” of the price of the PIST (Entry Point to the Transport System) for the “progressive readjustment” of these state transfers.
Although it is difficult to know how much the increases will be from now on, Chirillo underlined this. And, in this sense, He clarified that 33% of the subsidy will be removed in the months of February, March and April until the entire cost is paid. That is, users will go from paying $0.7 per million BTU to $4 in three months, about five times the amount paid now.
In this way we tend to “guarantee basic energy consumption for all users” and that the current tariff segmentation will be maintained in the first quarter, with a “new scheme” which will begin to be implemented from April.
The main change will be the adoption of a basic energy basket, instead of the current criterion of using the equivalent of 3.5 times the Total Basic Basket (CBT) prepared by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec).
The new basket – not yet specified – will have the purpose of “determining the income of the cohabiting group” AND? “satisfies people’s basic needs with different types of consumption in the areas of the country”.
Before the speech of the Secretary of Energy, the president of the hearing and auditor of Enargas, Carlos Casares, spoke and underlined the importance of giving “Clear and precise signals for a efficient and rational consumption and a quality service that accompanies the growth of demand and the Argentine economy.”
Rodríguez Chirillo also criticized the segmentation of subsidies implemented by the Alberto Fernández government. In this regard, he clarified that the majority of users “continues to have widespread subsidies, because the values set in the wholesale price do not cover the total costs”.
He also made it clear “There is an overlap of beneficiaries of social plans with these subsidies, because most of them are classified as level 2 (low income).” AND “There is a lack of control over user registry and collections o discrepancies with the register of access to energy concessions (RASE) and the database of the national social tax identification system.
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Source: Clarin
