The Bases Law project being discussed in the Senate reincorporated the subsidy in the gas rate for the Cold Zone Regime, which had been eliminated in Deputies. In Mar del Plata, the benefit includes more than 260,000 homes, starting in 2021.
The file being discussed in the Senate left aside the modification or elimination of the Cold Zone Regime, which establishes discounts for gas consumption in regions that were not originally provided for.
In the draft Base Law, the Executive Branch is empowered to modify or eliminate trust funds. In Deputies, the exception was included for the Cold Zone Regime fund established by Law 25,565.
Article 75 in Law 25,565 of the National Budget of 2002 established the Trust Fund for Subsidies for Residential Gas Consumption, to be able to finance subsidies to residential users by networks and the purchase of cylinders and bottles for home use in the provinces of the Patagonia, La Pampa, the city of Carmen de Patagones (province of Buenos Aires) and the Department of Malargüe in the province of Mendoza.
A year later it also spread to some departments in the provinces of San Juan, La Rioja, Catamarca, Salta and Jujuy. This benefit of 30% to 50% discount on the rate reached 800 thousand users. The trust fund arises from the contribution of 5.4% of the bills of all residential users.
As of Law 27,637 approved in 2021, the benefit was extended to towns in Mendoza, San Juan, San Luis, Salta, Córdoba, La Rioja, Salta, Tucumán and Catamarca, as well as to 50 municipalities in the province of Buenos Aires with cold or temperate-cold climate, including Mar del Plata. In this way, more than 3 million homes were incorporated.
