Concerned about inflation, the Government
decided to dose rate increases by postponing the gas increase
that was scheduled for February 1.
Instead, the authorities will move forward first with the update of residential electricity bills,
while the transportation ticket adjustment,
which was to come into effect from this Thursday, remains on hold.
According to official sources, the order came from the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, who decided to prioritize electric energy, despite the fact that the first public hearings were those on gas.
The idea is to increase from February the seasonal price (PEST)
paid by distributors
and cut subsidies to electricity generators, which will impact the March ballots.
That value is one of the four components of the rate on the bills along with the cost of distribution, transportation and taxes.
The last time it was updated was in February of last year, when Alberto Fernández's government launched the segmentation of subsidies.
"We don't know the date well, but they should publish the new seasonal price in the coming days," they said in the industry.
The change in plans would be due to the decision to
cushion the impact of tariffs on inflation
, in the midst of a barrage of increases to which this Thursday you will see an 11% adjustment in gasoline.
Some consulting firms, such as EcoGo, had estimated that the increases in gas could add up to 2 points over the February CPI and electricity, close to 1 point in March.
Although Javier Milei celebrated the inflation data for December, which showed a record increase of 25.5%, the Government faces cross pressures to reduce, on the one hand, the pace of price acceleration and, on the other hand, advance in the elimination of subsidies to achieve zero financial deficit, a goal on which
the disbursement of US$ 4.7 billion that is negotiated with the IMF depends
.
If the current scheme is maintained, public spending in
the electricity sector would rise to US$5.23 billion
, according to official data.
"It seems that the gas increase is postponed, it is confirmed, we do not know the reasons for the decision, but it would happen in March. We do not know who it depends on, but I can imagine that it is to order some increases, so that they do not occur this month and that they occur another , the hearing was in a timely manner, it was not legal, it is political," said a source from the energy sector.
At the public hearing last Friday on electricity rates, the Secretary of Energy, Eduardo Rodríguez Chirillo, warned that the system
is "on the verge of collapse"
, and the two service distributors in the AMBA, Edenor and Edesur, proposed increases in distribution rates of around 90%, while they demanded updated monthly adjustments for inflation.
In this framework, the official ratified his intention to abandon the segmentation of subsidies in electricity and gas for an energy basket concentrated in
"vulnerable" sectors
.
The idea was to reduce the subsidies in stages in February, March and April until they were completely eliminated, a plan that will now be extended over time.
"We are still working on it," official sources said.
Regarding transportation, the Government planned to begin applying increases of 250% starting this Thursday, with minimum fares of $270 for bus service and $130 for rail service.
But Justice accepted an amparo presented by the mayor of Esteban Echeverría
, Fernando Gray, which was appealed yesterday by the Nation, so the update remains on hold.