The bills for the natural gas service through networks had strong increases since April in the midst of the process of fiscal adjustment and price regulation initiated by the Government of Javier Milei after the rate freeze of the previous administration.
In any case, according to a report by the consulting firm Economy and Energy, by Nicolás Arceoin Argentina the fluid is paid a little less than what is paid in Canada and the United States, less than half of those registered in other producing countries in the region and represent less than a third of those registered in importing countries. .
The increases in residential bills were around 500% depending on which population segment each Argentine household corresponds to based on the current subsidy scheme: Level 1 (high income) paying full, Level 2 (low income) with social rate and Level 3 (middle income) with a subsidized consumption ceiling.
That jump was added to those of the electricity, gasoline, prepaid, transportation and other items that hit consumers’ pockets. That is why the Government decided to postpone the increases planned since May in public services, in search of supporting the decline in inflation and avoiding a greater impact on “the middle class.”
Although the correction in the first quarter was strong, the vast majority of users do not cover the full cost of energy with their bills. Given the latest official decisions, the delay in real terms of the ballots will deepen.
“Natural gas rates in Argentina are slightly lower than those in developed producing countries such as Canada and the USA, they are half of those registered in other producing countries in the region and represent only a third of the rates paid in the countries. importers,” stated the Economy and Energy report.
To make the comparison, they used the information corresponding to the average rates reported in Global Petrol Prices (September 2023). In the case of Chilithe information presented by SEG Engineering for February was also used. The comparison is in nominal dollars, that is, there are no adjustments for local purchasing power.
For Argentina, the new tariff tables in force since April for segments N1, N2 and N3 were taken into account, since each of these users pays differently. The average shows that Argentines have paid an average of USD 7.7 per million BTU since April.
In the case of the United States they pay USD 12 per million BTU and in Canada USD 11 per million BTU. On the other hand, in Mexico, another producer, average rates represent USD 22 per million BTU.
Residential rates in importing countries are at least three times higher than the average in Argentina: United Kingdom USD 30, Germany USD 31, Spain USD 31, France USD 38 per million BTU.
In the case of the producing countries in the region, the average bills are more than double those of Argentina: Colombia USD 17, Brazil USD 68 and Chile between USD 33 and USD 44 per million BTU.
With the rate tables that were planned since May, residential natural gas rates in Argentina were going to have a sharp jump in high-income users, a slighter jump in the middle segments and zero in low-income users. That, however, would have brought the national average to $8.1 per million BTU, just 40 cents higher than April.
It is in 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 quarters.
In addition, the Ministry of Energy once again postponed the implementation of a new, more restrictive scheme of subsidies that I planned to apply from April, then May, then June and that now does not have a precise date. Expenditure on rates is one of the deficit issues that generate and have generated the greatest difficulty in recent years. Currently, a more “progressive” reduction than originally planned is being evaluated.
