Sergio Massa together with Flavia Royón, Darío Martínez, Federico Basualdo, Santiago Yanotti and Federico Bernal, among other energy officials (Photo: Ministry of Economy).
The Secretary of Energy promises that, for these hours, he will report on the values that those who overcome the “facilitated” block will have to pay for electricity. It is for this month’s electricity bills that the distributors They will start loading in October.
The government promised it the first 400 KwH per month of consumption will be “subsidized” for customers who keep all the concessions or a partial of those discounts. But, after that block, he announced that he will charge a larger amount.
A week ago, the electricity regulator (Enre) announced the new amounts that Edenor and Edesur will charge their customers, with an increase of up to 48% compared to current values. but did not report the price to pay for the surplus.
The issue is a thorny one within the government. In the Secretariat for Energy there are those who think that “subsidized” consumption, up to 400 kWh, it’s too generous”And should be reduced to something closer to 300 KwH. On the other hand, the governors of the north argue which require a greater share, close to 550 KwH. Because there are provinces that do not have access to the gas network and consume only electricity.
In these hours, the opinion of the Minister of Economy Sergio Massa is awaited on the matter.
Cammesa, the wholesale administrator of the electricity system, has already sued grants of $ 520,000 million through July. That’s more than double what it was in the same period in 2021, when it burned $ 240 billion.
Analysts believe that, if the subsidized 400 kWh share is kept, it is difficult to reduce the tax number.
Users are divided into three levels: Level 1, the one with the highest income that will suffer a 20% reduction in this first phase, and at the end of the trip they will be left without state aid. Level 2, which is associated with the social rate and will keep the benefits in their entirety. And level 3, those with middle income who will lose their benefits in a certain percentage.
The removal of subsidies It will also be applied in three installments. It is now September-October. So, another haircut will arrive in November. And finally, another in January 2023.
The current subsidy reduction is 20%. In November it will be another 40%. And in January, the last 40% of this phase. Analysts consulted by Clarín estimate that the increase in votes it will be 170% for the entire trip. The Government denies this figure, but does not even provide a clarification in this regard.
The electricity bills of families left without state subsidies will increase by a minimum of 170% between September and February. While general users – from a shop to a building – they will face an increase close to 140%.
The estimates were made by three specialists consulted by Clarione, who asked not to be identified.
Residential customers pay approximately $ 3,129 per MwH (an industry unit of measure). With this first reduction in subsidies (by 20%), they will spend $ 5,190 for that unit. But there are two more increases: another in November (where another 40% subsidy will be withdrawn from the current value) and the third in January (another 40% reduction). From $ 3,129 it will rise to $ 13,433, which is a 330% increase.
The 330% increase in cost is not fully passed on to the invoice. There, usually, half is passed on – the incidence of the cost of electricity and part of the taxes – which gives a 170% increase to the cards arriving in February.
This 170% increase is a conservative estimate. In the summer, the price of electricity is generally higher. And the government’s intention is that customers who have not applied for subsidies or who have “high” incomes (over $ 250,000 per month) pay the “full” cost of electricity. Therefore, the final increase can be even higher in the warm months.
So far, for Edenor level 1 users of category 1-R, the fixed rent remains at the August levels and the variable has different increases, which in the case of the range from 0 to 150 kWh is 53.31% and in that from 151 to 325 kWh, 52.32%.
The maximum increases are estimated between 31 and 48% depending on the category and consumption of each user.
For an R3 customer whose consumption is up to 400 kWh, their bill will increase by approximately $ 900 pesos, or from the current $ 2,035.15 to the $ 2,977.15 they would pay.
The question is what will happen precisely with those who exceed that benchmark.
Martin Bidegaray
Source: Clarin
