The government admits delays in implementing the removal of subsidies

The segmentation of electricity and gas tariffs, with the elimination of concessions for some segments, comes slower than advertised. The Secretary of Energy, Flavia Royon, admitted that the updates of the tariff tables – which allow the application of new amounts in the bill – can be made “on 1 (September), 3 or 5”. In this way he confirmed it the process cannot be implemented yetas several stages are missing.

The distribution companies of gas had already been notified on the new rate charts. They are the ones who will charge tier 1 customers, that is, the ones who will lose the subsidies. However, the register of these users – who will not receive grants – has not yet been handed over to businesses.

Metrogas and Naturgiaoperating in Buenos Aires, they already know that bills for tier 1 (“high income) customers will rise more than 100% between September and February. However, I am not yet able to identify these clients, because they do not have the log indicating who they are.

Level 2 (low-income) customers will keep subsidies. Customers of the so-called level 3 (average income) will gradually lose the discounts. But the new sums to be paid have not yet been communicated.

The situation is even slower in electricity tariffs. Energy has warned companies that they will have to pay more for that supply when they provide it to customers without subsidies. To do this, companies must be given the order to apply a new tariff.

The regulatory entity of Edenor and Edesur is Enre. Walter Martello will be the controller there. But His appointment has not yet been formalized. That way, it doesn’t have a signature. Enre cannot issue tariff plans without the authorization of the highest authority.

circulated energy a scheme of possible bids in the electricity bills for the different types of customers. But it was only up to him to give a number to the increases for the two-month period September-October. In these two months we will proceed with the removal of 20% of the contributions to the costs of electricity.

The government still is reluctant to formalize what will happen to the tariffs when the other 80% of the subsidy is removedbetween November 2022 and February 2023. Three technicians consulted hypothesize an increase in the electricity bill of up to 200%, for users without subsidies.

The regulatory bodies, in addition to not disseminating the new tariffs, have not delivered to distributors the registers indicating who are the customers who will lose the subsidies.

Executive Power has advanced compared to level 2 (lower income) users in electricity. They will pay the social rate (which already has 30% of the register). Similarly, those who already have this benefit will become part of that category – level 2 – even if they are not registered.

Energy has not yet clarified what will happen to users who will keep some subsidies, but they will lose a part. They are called “level 3”. The draft that has been circulated shows fewer increases than customers who have not signed up for benefits or have done so but have income in excess of $ 250,000 per month.

The national government affirms that all the information – both on tariff rates, and on the registers of those who will not have subsidies, those who keep and those who renounce – have already been delivered to the regulatory bodies (provincial electricity, except in the AMBA and Enargas in gas concessions).

Several governors consulted said this data was not in their hands. That the records are not in the hands of their district regulators.

Distributors have to pay 20% for the electricity they consume. In Buenos Aires, the companies -Edesur and Edenor- will sell it to customers.

Electricity definition makers avoid definitions because “the current monomic price (on which electricity rates are calculated can vary.” “Today it is $ 13,500 per MwH. But that amount could decrease by $ 9,000 towards the summer, for which he should not make the correction that the technicians are marking and the increase would be less ”, they repeat.

Among the factors that would help to lower the current monomic price, there would be a greater contribution from hydroelectric energy (energy from dams) “Monomic (price) is heavily dollarized, and for this reason it can vary. But we do not want to make projections beyond those corresponding to this two-month period ”, they observed.