From March, there will be an increase in gas bills.
There will be an increase in the margins of the distributors, which are the companies that bring gas to businesses, services and industries.
A figure -close to 40%-
was circulating in the Government
, but other sources in the sector specified that it had not yet been defined.
“March inflation is already high.
Perhaps the increase is doubled or something, so that it has less impact
, ”said a businessman in the sector who asked not to be named.
Spending on public services -which had almost no impact on inflation from mid-2019 to mid-2022- began to be felt since September, after the withdrawal of certain subsidies and increases in bills, with water as one of the benefits that most went up.
During the winter of last year, a middle-class Buenos Aires family paid between
$1,500 and $2,000 for their gas bill
.
That was for an average consumption -95 cubic meters-, and contained a strong state subsidy.
During the next winter,
that bill will not drop below $4,000
if the household is labeled as "high income" or wants to continue having access to the "savings dollar."
The increase will be, at least,
120% in relation to what was paid in the winter of 2022,
and corresponds to the price of gas itself.
Depending on the increase in the distribution amounts, the year-on-year increase can be around between 150% and 170%.
In the March rise, there will be
an improvement in the margins charged by distributors and carriers.
With annualized inflation that is biting 100%, these increases would allow energy subsidies to stay the same or fall a bit compared to last year.
The savings will be due to lower imports
, since this year there will be more local production with the construction of the gas pipeline that will link Buenos Aires with Vaca Muerta.
In addition, the Government anticipated the purchase of LNG ships.
He agreed to the operation at a price that would be lower than that of winter.
That will bring
relief of US$1.5 billion
, according to official sources.
As the gas prices on the bills rise, the respective taxes will also increase.
It is estimated that the taxes represent almost
a quarter of the gas bill
.
Until now, a $1,500 consumption bill had around $500 in taxes.
Now, a bill that is close to $3,200 -as a result of the rise in gas- will carry more than $800 in taxes.
The Energy Secretariat established that Metrogas and Naturgy customers -both located in the City of Buenos Aires and the suburbs- pay
$34 for each cubic meter of gas they demand.
Until now,
they had been paying $22
.
And, in mid-2022, it was at $16. This increase applies to clients called N1, that is, “high income”.
There are 3.45 million households that did not register in the gas subsidy register
.
This means that they believe that they do not need the subsidies, or that they want to continue accessing the “savings dollar” or the operations of stock dollars.
People who prefer to maintain state discounts will not be able to trade currencies.
It may also be that within those 3.45 million customers -identified as N1- there are households that do not know that they have to register to preserve the State discounts.
There are 2.3 million accounts that have applied to preserve some discounts, while 3.4 million have identified themselves as “low income” and will continue to enjoy heavy subsidies.
The Ministry of Energy will allow the "middle class" (who earn less than $520,000 and do not want to access the savings dollar) to consume a basic block at a gas price similar to last year ($12 per cubic meter from 2023, against $14 that was in 2022).
However, once they exceed the "allowed" block, they must pay $34 per cubic meter.
When segmentation began, households earning more than $390,000 per month for the family as a whole were considered high income.
Now,
that milestone is over $520,000.
It is estimated that close to a third of the Metrogas and Naturgy households remained within the N1 group, with bills that will increase between 150% and 170%.
look also
In a second round bid, the Treasury obtained additional financing of almost $13,000 million
The salary floor of Profits is already out of date and the taxpayers ask that it be adjusted every month