The Government has decided not implement the new increases in electricity and gas bills that were scheduled for May, as confirmed by a high-level source from the Ministry of Economy to Infobae. “There will be no increases in May. We want to consolidate the decline in inflation and we are doing well with the surplus“said the source.
This decision implies the postponement of the monthly indexation mechanisms that the Ministry of Energy, in charge of Eduardo Rodríguez Chirillohad been established to avoid a decline in real terms in the income of distribution and transport companies. The same will happen with the update of the fuel tax (ICL)which had an impact of 8% and was considered to be divided into two sections.
Although the National Electricity Regulatory Entity (Enre) and the National Gas Regulatory Entity (Enargas) were expected to publish the tariff tables corresponding to the month that begins this Wednesday, they haven’t done it yet. Official sources indicate that The magnitude of the increases and how to apply them is being evaluated, after the strong increases during the first quarter in electricity, gas, water and public transportation.
In relation to energy rates, The companies involved have been informed about the increases that would correspond to them, based on the polynomial formulas defined in the latest updates. An increase of 10.7% was estimated for electricity distributors, 12.5% for gas distributors and 12% for gas transportation. The last word on the application of the increases will be the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo.
The suspension of these increases has generated concern in the sectorsince it could affect the payment chain again, as happened during the freeze in the previous administration. The generators claim from the Wholesale Electricity Market Administration Company (Cammesa) some USD 2,000 million owed so far this year.
On the other hand, the implementation of the Basic Energy Basket (CBE), initially scheduled for April and then postponed to May, is now expected for June or July. This would imply that 7 out of 10 users will continue to pay less than 10% of the real cost of the energy consumed. The delay is due to the difficulty in cross-referencing data necessary to determine which households will continue with assistance on their ballots.
