After signing the new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the National Government already works on the implementation of a new subsidies scheme for electricity and natural gas rates. The measure, which will enter into force before the end of the year, aims to concentrate the resources of the state only in the most vulnerable sectors and respond directly to the conditions required by the IMF within the framework of the loan granted to the country.
The plan contemplates replacing the current segmentation system at three levels – based on household revenues – with a single category of focused assistance. This implies that about 3 million middle -class residential users, currently included in Level 3 of the Access to Energy Subsidies (RASE), will be excluded from the benefit and begin to pay the full rate.
Impact and difficulties in implementation
The Ministry of Energy, in charge of María Carmen Tettamanti, will be responsible for applying this adjustment, which will be implemented gradually by the progressive reduction of discounts on light and gas invoices. In addition, the new scheme could also leave out of the vulnerable beneficiaries, which due to lack of formal accreditation or problems at the crossroads, fail to stay within the help system.
The numbers behind the change
According to official data, until December 2024, 9.5 million electricity users accessed subsidized rates. Of that total, 6.3 million belonged to level 2 (low revenues) and 3.2 million to level 3 (average revenues). In the case of natural gas, the subsidy reached 5.3 million residential users: 3.1 million at level 2 and 2.2 million at level 3.
With system restructuring, only households included in the new category of “economic vulnerability” will continue to receive state help. The rest will begin to face important increases in their light and gas tickets.
