The Since this month, small businesses and industries have been paying between three and seven times more for their gas bills. compared to what they had paid in December after the latest Government resolutions. The business chambers SMEs They warn of the impact on the increase in their costs, especially of public services, and the possible transfer to pricesalthough the sharp drop in sales sets a limit.
The “sincerization” of rates carried out by the Secretary of Energy looking to contribute to fiscal surplus and the recovery of lagging relative prices will have an impact on the costs of these commercial and industrial users. Unlike what happens with two out of every three residential areas, this universe stopped receiving subsidies and the tariff tables that came into force in April anticipate sharp jumps in their costs.
He Tariffs and Subsidies Observatory at the Interdisciplinary Institute of Political Economy (IIEP)which depends on the UBA and the Conicet, estimated that the greatest impact will be felt by small businesses. One of the examples they gave was that of a user in the Pi General Service category, non-home, of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA) with a consumption of 850 m3 per month.
With the December rate table That small business paid $24,698 while from April it will face $184,829 in its final bill.
In the case of a SME industry in category P 3 of the AMBA that consumes 9,500 m3 per month, the increase will be 283% between December and April, since it will have a lower impact from the variable charge for consumption. If you paid $535,592 in December, you will now pay $2,048,995 per month for natural gas.
“These increases are disparate. For these categories the fixed charge increased, in both cases, by 694%. However, the variable charge increased 645% for the P 1 category while the P 3 category faces an increase of 277%, mainly explained by the increase in the price of gas (PIST),” the IIEP work detailed.
It is not the first increase of the year in public services since the Government of Javier Milei released rates from the freeze imposed by the previous administration. Electricity bills increased more than 300% and water bills 209% in these four months. Wages fell the most in decades and sales plummeted.
The president of the entity Argentine SMEs Industriales (IPA), Daniel Rosato, warned of the impact on costs at a time when the recession led to plant losses across the country. In fact, he highlighted the latest report of the Observatory of your organization.
“Added to this context of sharp contraction in demand and level of activity is the increase in energy services, a necessary input for any sector – but even more so in sectors such as chemicals, oil and gas refining, steel, cellulose and paper or cement. However, Many of these items in turn produce widespread inputs for the other productive sectors of the economy; Therefore, the second round impact of the energy increase will also be significant.“, recorded the work carried out by economists Pablo Bercovich and Martin Kalos.
IPA estimated that the invoices to be paid in May, corresponding to April, will be at least three times higher than they were until now. Starting in May there will be another increase to compensate for a higher cost of gas in the winter, a time when the temperature is lower and consumption skyrockets.
The owner of the center of bakers of Merlo and the Center of Industrial Bakers Agrupados, Martín Pinto, warned about the effect of the adjustment in his sector. The entity of the Buenos Aires town carried out this Thursday a delivery of 500 kilos of bread to neighbors in protest and as a request for an audience with the Secretariat of Commerce and Energy.
“We continue to receive continuous increases, not only in inputs, raw materials and fuel, but now we are suffering a terrible high rates on electricity and gas bills, of almost 220 percent,” said Pinto. “Neighborhood bakeries are on the brink of disappearance”, he warned.
Businesses are going through delicate months, with few sales and cost increases. Especially in March, the increase in prices in public services was notable. Those establishments that use more energy intensively, for example, such as food and beverages, saw the figures on their electricity bills jump.
The Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (CAME) had expressed concern about tariffs in its last report retail saleswhich fell 12.6% year-on-year in March and have accumulated a decline of 22.1% compared to the first quarter of last year.
“Businesses are going through delicate months, with few sales and cost increases. Especially in March, the increase in prices in public services was notable. Those establishments that use more energy intensively, for example, such as food and beverages, saw the figures on their electricity bills jump. At the same time, families have been taking great care of their expenses even when there are card or installment payment options. There is uncertainty about how long the recession will last and that is why caution prevails when buying,” CAME considered.
In large entities, as in the case of the representative Argentine Industrial Union (UIA), the impact of cost increases, especially for utilities, is also a concern. The greatest discontent is found in SMEs and companies that depend most on the domestic market, which suffer the crisis most harshly.
