The next natural gas bills will begin to arrive this month with strong increases that in the case of residential users exceed 500% compared to what they paid last year and for businesses and industries they are above 1,000%increases that could be greater in the winter period.
The adjustment in the first months of President Javier Milei brought the rates of this public service to levels close to those of 2019, after the increases during Mauricio Macri’s administration, for high-income households. The case is different for low- and middle-income users, who still maintain a large part of the subsidized cost.
It is within this framework that the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, decided to postpone until further notice the increases planned for May with the objective of supporting the slowdown in inflation and not burdening the middle class with more expenses.. The decision, he explained, was based on the fiscal surplus achieved during the first quarter.
Gas bills are made up of four items: generation cost, transportation, distribution and, on top of that, taxes (national, provincial and municipal) are applied. The Government covers with subsidies the difference between the price of producing gas and what different users pay.
Currently, there is a subsidy scheme that divides residential users into 3 segments: Level 1 (high income) who pay fully, Level 2 (low income) with a social rate and Level 3 (middle income) with a subsidized consumption cap.
