(ADN).- The deregulation of bottled gas, the removal of subsidies and the elimination of maximum prices generated a strong increase in bottles. This was alerted by Senator Silvina García Larruburu (UxP), who indicated that in Bariloche the increase – from November to here – accumulated 600%. And she reported that the prices range from 16,000 to 21,000 pesos.
Larraburu highlighted that this great rate also comes at the time when the coldest season of the year begins.
“The sectors most affected by the increase in the price of cylinders are, as always, the most vulnerable sectors and those who do not have access to the home natural gas network,” he denounced. “This is why we are concerned that after the entry into force of this resolution, no complementary measures are adopted that contemplate other initiatives that respond to and make this problem visible,” added the senator.
This situation led García Larraburu to present a project expressing “his concern” about the measures of the National Executive Branch, and the Resolution of the Secretary of Energy of the Nation that deregulated, among others, the LPG bottle and cylinder sector, eliminating part of the subsidies for the aforementioned products, in the face of a harsh winter that is approaching.
As a consequence, gas bottle users in the country and especially those in Patagonia, experienced a significant impact due to the increase in their rates, which from the beginning of the year will have a quarterly price adjustment based on the evolution of inflation. and that meant increases of up to 600% depending on the region, taking the November 2023 values as a reference.
“It is worth mentioning that since mid-December there have been no reference prices for bottled gas, as was the case until that date when a maximum amount was imposed that companies had to charge in their distribution centers,” added Larraburu.
With this deregulation, companies set prices and the suggested maximum price controls disappeared. The National Energy Secretariat only requests that the Consumer Defense Law be applied, which has no influence on prices. The YPF Gas distributor in Bariloche currently charges around $16,000 per bottle, collected at the plant, and at home it has a higher price. Purchased privately, it costs around $21,500.
“Currently, in the distribution centers of the different provinces, 10 kilo bottles are available at prices that range between $8,000 and $21,000 depending on the producer and the area, and these values can reach $30,000 in retail and/or grocery stores. proximity, very far from the values suggested in Resolution 11/2024,” commented the Senator.
