The Government is analyzing
further restricting the conditions
so that users of electricity, gas and bottles can
access the energy subsidies
granted by the national State.
Now, as appears from the new documents published by the
Ministry of Energy
on its website,
those who have purchased dollars or any foreign currency in the last 3 months
could "be taken into consideration for the rejection or exclusion of the benefit" ;
also to those who
traveled abroad more than once in the last 5 years
, if it was to a country not bordering Argentina;
and those who
pay for cell phones the equivalent of more than 25% of a minimum wage
, a value that from March will be $50,700 (about $202,800).
In addition, they would remove subsidies from those who have prepaid medical
coverage
that is not linked to a job in a dependency relationship.
Exclusion criteria for rate segmentation and subsidy removal
These criteria for excluding state aid presuppose that users have sufficient income or assets to cover the full cost of energy in their rates, and are added to those previously reported by
Clarín
, such as having a
car or motorcycle that is less than 5 years or two with less than 10 years
.
The new segmentation of rate subsidies and the definition of a
Basic Energy Basket
will be put up for consideration in a
public hearing this Thursday, the 29th
.
The
agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
establishes as a goal that there be definitions in this aspect in April and that it be implemented
in May.
In relation to income, the Government will also take into account those who make
purchases with credit cards or virtual wallets for the equivalent of more than 5 minimum wages
, a figure that would rise to $1,014,000 in March.
Other patrimonial aspects that the Government will consider, through the voluntary declaration of users or the crossing with multiple databases, are the ownership of
aircraft
,
luxury
boats or boats for recreational purposes, the ownership of at least two
properties
,
luxury cars
or collection and membership in the board of directors or
ownership of a private company
.
Bioenvironmental zones of Argentina for the segmentation of rates and removal of subsidies
The Secretary of Energy,
Eduardo Rodríguez Chirillo
, had anticipated that
the subsidies would only go to those who spend more than 10% of their income on paying for energy
, with coverage of the differential on that percentage.
Caps on energy consumption with subsidies
However, the application of
the Basic Energy Basket (CBE) will also limit the amounts
.
The controller of the National Gas Regulatory Entity (Enargas),
Carlos Casares
, who is one of Rodríguez Chirillo's most trusted technicians, with extensive experience in the gas sector, designed together with experts in gas and electrical energy a scheme in which
The maximum consumption volumes are established according to the bio-environmental zones
and the number of people living in each home.
Electricity and gas consumption cap with subsidies, according to the new rate segmentation
For example: a
household with 1 or 2 people in the City of Buenos Aires
(temperate-warm zone, number 3) that is a
Metrogas
user and its category is R2-1 usually has its maximum consumption in
July
, and the
limit to be subsidized It would be 128 m3 of natural gas
that month.
Another example: a home in
Tierra del Fuego
(very cold zone, number 6) with 1 or 2 people is a user of
Camuzzi Gas del Sur
with category R2-3 also registers its peak demand in July, with a
subsidized limit of 595 m3 that month
.
But as detected by the newspaper
Río Negro
,
the maximum gas volume established by the Nation is almost 65% below the real average
of a home in the southernmost province of the country, while there are other notable differences between the future ceiling and average consumption in other cold regions.
This
could open a new front of discussion
with the Patagonian governors soon.
Meanwhile,
in electrical energy the limits will also be considerably lower
.
Since October 2022, a ceiling of 400 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month was established for the middle class - Level 3 of segmentation, which
will now be between 100
and
200 kWh
in almost the entire country and all year round, with exception of the very warm zone in some northern provinces.
NE