This scenario is a consequence of the rates remaining frozen for four years, from the Social Outbreak, through the pandemic, to date. Furthermore, the increase in bills could have been higher, but thanks to the Tariff Stabilization Law this was not the case, managing to mitigate the increase.
There are less than fifteen days until July 1, the date on which electricity bills will increase, even rising by 50% for some customers. For this reason, different parliamentarians are looking for alternatives to combat the rise and reduce people’s spending.
It is worth mentioning that this scenario is a consequence of the rates remaining frozen for four years, from the Social Outbreak, through the pandemic, to date. Furthermore, the increase in bills could have been higher, but thanks to the Tariff Stabilization Law this was not the case, managing to mitigate the increase.
On the other hand, another benefit to beat the new price of electricity bills is the Electricity Subsidy, which will be delivered to the most vulnerable 40%, according to the Social Registry of Households, as long as no debts are detected in the passing of the accounts.
The payment of this subsidy would be made in October and would cover from July to December of this year. That is, a single payment. But, starting next year it would be carried out monthly.
single payment starting in October, to cover months from July to December 2024, in 2025 on a monthly basis.
This measure has been questioned by some parliamentarians, who ask that the beneficiary section be increased. This was commented by deputy José Miguel Castro (RN), who maintained that “there are two important issues here. The first is that there was a debt that actually had to be paid.”
“The other thing, the interest that the government shows towards the people, based on the amount of money it puts into the subsidy (…) I call on the government to consider increasing these monies,” he added.
His counterpart in the Lower House and member of the Mining and Energy Commission, Cristián Tapia (INS-PPD), commented that “at a certain point it was established that if there was no bill, everyone would be raised between 100% and 110%. I think it was a mistake, in those years, not to have readjusted properly, because you feel less and, day by day, the debt increased.”
This commission, during the afternoon of this Wednesday, will receive the Minister of Energy, Diego Pardow, in order to address alternatives to mitigate the rise.
“It is not good policy to continue prolonging the freeze”
For the macroeconomic coordinator of Clapes UC, Hermann González, “this problem is going to be more difficult to solve in the future, therefore it is preferable that this happens as soon as possible, hopefully with the lowest costs for households, as gradually as possible. and with targeted aid for lower-income households. But, it is not good policy to continue prolonging the rate freeze.”
Meanwhile, the so-called electricity bench, made up of parliamentarians from different political sectors, needs to renegotiate the bidding contracts with the electricity companies.
However, for Humberto Verdejo, a civil electrical engineer and academic at the University of Santiago, this alternative is not the best.
“What they want to renegotiate are the expensive contracts, mainly the bastard ones, and those contracts are going to end in 2027 and, furthermore, now, they are weighing little on the rate. It is not the element that makes the price rise so much. What most determines the price, at this moment, is the debt. It’s not going to have a major effect,” he said.
Check all the details in the full note.
This scenario is a consequence of the rates remaining frozen for four years, from the Social Outbreak, through the pandemic, to date. Furthermore, the increase in bills could have been higher, but thanks to the Tariff Stabilization Law this was not the case, managing to mitigate the increase.
There are less than fifteen days until July 1, the date on which electricity bills will increase, even rising by 50% for some customers. For this reason, different parliamentarians are looking for alternatives to combat the rise and reduce people’s spending.
It is worth mentioning that this scenario is a consequence of the rates remaining frozen for four years, from the Social Outbreak, through the pandemic, to date. Furthermore, the increase in bills could have been higher, but thanks to the Tariff Stabilization Law this was not the case, managing to mitigate the increase.
On the other hand, another benefit to beat the new price of electricity bills is the Electricity Subsidy, which will be delivered to the most vulnerable 40%, according to the Social Registry of Households, as long as no debts are detected in the passing of the accounts.
The payment of this subsidy would be made in October and would cover from July to December of this year. That is, a single payment. But, starting next year it would be carried out monthly.
single payment starting in October, to cover months from July to December 2024, in 2025 on a monthly basis.
This measure has been questioned by some parliamentarians, who ask that the beneficiary section be increased. This was commented by deputy José Miguel Castro (RN), who maintained that “there are two important issues here. The first is that there was a debt that actually had to be paid.”
“The other thing, the interest that the government shows towards the people, based on the amount of money it puts into the subsidy (…) I call on the government to consider increasing these monies,” he added.
His counterpart in the Lower House and member of the Mining and Energy Commission, Cristián Tapia (INS-PPD), commented that “at a certain point it was established that if there was no bill, everyone would be raised between 100% and 110%. I think it was a mistake, in those years, not to have readjusted properly, because you feel less and, day by day, the debt increased.”
This commission, during the afternoon of this Wednesday, will receive the Minister of Energy, Diego Pardow, in order to address alternatives to mitigate the rise.
“It is not good policy to continue prolonging the freeze”
For the macroeconomic coordinator of Clapes UC, Hermann González, “this problem is going to be more difficult to solve in the future, therefore it is preferable that this happens as soon as possible, hopefully with the lowest costs for households, as gradually as possible. and with targeted aid for lower-income households. But, it is not good policy to continue prolonging the rate freeze.”
Meanwhile, the so-called electricity bench, made up of parliamentarians from different political sectors, needs to renegotiate the bidding contracts with the electricity companies.
However, for Humberto Verdejo, a civil electrical engineer and academic at the University of Santiago, this alternative is not the best.
“What they want to renegotiate are the expensive contracts, mainly the bastard ones, and those contracts are going to end in 2027 and, furthermore, now, they are weighing little on the rate. It is not the element that makes the price rise so much. What most determines the price, at this moment, is the debt. It’s not going to have a major effect,” he said.
Check all the details in the full note.
