The final opinion of the commission of the Base Law that came out of Senate maintains the benefit for the regions that in 2021 joined the “cold zone”, for which about half of the residential users of natural gas from Argentina receive a discount of between 30% and 50% on their final invoices. The axis had been excluded in the half-sanction of the Chamber of Deputies.
This point caused concern to the governors, in advance of the new rate increases that the Government will apply from June. Although the cold zone subsidies do not arise from a contribution from the Treasury, but are financed with a surcharge on invoices throughout the country, the intention of Javier Milei’s administration was to eliminate the benefit.
The national senator for Chubut, Edith Terenzi confirmed to EQSnotas.com that the subsidy will be maintained after the strong request from legislators to sustain the scheme that benefits Patagonia. In addition, towns from Mendoza, San Juan, San Luis, Salta, Córdoba, La Rioja, Salta, Tucumán and Catamarca were added, as well as fifty municipalities in the province of Buenos Aires.
The ruling party’s bill that had achieved half a sanction in the Chamber of Deputies authorized the Executive Branch to modify, transform, dissolve or liquidate trust funds. The rule contemplated the exclusion of Trust Fund for Residential Gas Consumption Subsidies created by Law 25,567 although it did not mention the last modification.
The opinion that came out of the Senate included the modification of Law 27,637 promoted in 2021 by deputy Máximo Kirchner that extended the benefit to more areas of the country than originally planned. This detail had generated concern among interior legislators, who sought to ensure the maintenance of these subsidies.
The regime provided for by Law 25,565 on Cold Zones originally provided that since 2002 some 800,000 users in Patagonia, Puna and Malargüe (Mendoza) will have a discount on their rates of 50% on what they pay in the price of gas. Two years ago the benefit was expanded to other areas of the country with cold or temperate-cold climates and reached 4.3 million homes, out of a total of 9 million in the country.
However, this subsidy is not funded by contributions from the National Treasury but rather arises from a surcharge of 5.44% on the price of gas (PIST) -one of the four items that make up the bill in addition to transportation, distribution and taxes- paid by all users (residential, commercial and industrial) in the country. Contributions go to the Trust Fund for Residential Gas Consumption Subsidies.
The Government transfers to the distributors the difference between what the beneficiary households pay and the “real cost” of the invoice to the distributors with funds from that trust. Last year, this fund had income of $116,877 million and expenses of $77,663 million, that is, a positive result of $39,213 million. This was one of the trust funds that the Government had in its sights for its elimination.
In fact, in mid-May distributors and sub-distributors gas companies from all over the country had targeted the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, for stepping on the refunds of the “cold zone” rates. The debt, which was later canceled, was for about $4.3 billion.
On March 4, it was published in the Official bulletin he Decree 215/2024 by which Milei established that the Ministry of Economy is the new “trustor representing the National State, in all trust funds integrated totally or partially with assets and/or funds of the National State, exercising in that capacity the direction and conduct of said trust funds.”
This is the case of the Trust Fund for Residential Gas Consumption Subsidies, which covers reimbursements to distributors in cold areas. Like all State trusts, the Government anticipated that audits would be carried out, but there was still no news while payments have been stopped since the beginning of this year, as reported. Infobae.
