Criticism of the VAD increase proposal

In the last public hearing, the EC SAPEM justified its request for an increase in the Distribution Added Value, which would have an impact of between 10 and 15% increase in the final price of the energy bill, as explained by its representatives. Deputy Alfredo Marchioli (UCR) led the claims against this request, but some neighbors were also in the Calchaquí Hall with banners against the increase.

“An update of the VAD is the first step to guarantee universal access to energy service. Updating the real operating costs of energy distribution guarantees EC SAPEM to be able to provide a sustainable service over time. The proposal we present does not represent an increase greater than that determined by inflation, nor greater than the update of salaries,” said Aldo Palavecino, company representative.

In that sense, he said that “due to the effect of inflation, the fuels used by our trucks, the supplies used in the maintenance of the network and the salaries of workers must be updated periodically to establish the real cost of bringing energy to everyone.” the users of Catamarca”. “The VAD update that we propose will only have an impact ranging from 10 to 15% on the final billing of the service that users pay,” he noted.

Palavecino rejected criticism of the company and said that “attributing responsibility to EC SAPEM for the final billing price of the entire energy chain is unfounded.”

“They maliciously omit to say that the bill that users pay has three components: the MEM, which takes almost 50% of what the user pays; national, provincial and municipal taxes, which account for almost 27% of what users pay; while the VAD that finances distribution only represents 23%,” he noted.

In his presentation, deputy Alfredo Marchioli had criticism for the company and also for ENRE. “The Regulatory Entity not only has to verify the company’s updating formula, but there is a more important thing, which is the public interest. Currently it is limited to legitimizing requests for increases from the EC SAPEM. In this context, the ENRE has no reason to exist, it does not represent the users. The energy company and ENRE lie about the impact of the VAD on the bill and also violates the rights of users because it alters the contract based on what the company demands. “We are generating an electricity bill that people cannot pay,” he claimed.

In closing, the president of the ENRE, Augusto Acuña, questioned (without mentioning him) Marchioli, recalled that “between the ENRE and the EC SAPEM an effort was made to place Catamarca in the category of cold areas” and highlighted that “that It is also about taking care of the pockets of the people of Catamarca and that is not talked about.”