The representative of the Broad Front in the Directory of joint ventureFernanda Cardona, presented on thursday a proposal for retirees who receive the minimum benefit, and students from Udelar, Utec and UTU who receive a scholarship from the Solidarity Fund –both groups are in the first two income deciles–, can access the Residential Basic Consumption Tariff (TCB).
It is a subsidized rate that was modified in 2022. On that occasion by decision of the majority of the Board of Directors of the entity and the Executive Power, The possibility of entry for new users was eliminated and it was only available to those who already had it contracted as long as they meet the permanence requirements. That decision had not been accompanied by Cardona.
The TCB was designed in 2010 and was originally aimed at homes with stable monthly consumption of 230 KWh or less. The only requirement to have it was to consume little electricity and not exceed that limit more than twice in a year.
Cardona’s request is based, as he pointed out, on the fact that since it was changed in December 2021, “36% of households have already lost this rate”, and went on to pay double for the same consumption that I had previously.
“Considering that a household that spends more than 10% of its income on energy is in energy poverty and the weight that electrical energy has in the set of energy used by the householdwe understand that, for households up to the second decile of income, the removal of the TCB implies further increasing the number of households in a situation of energy poverty in Uruguay”, he stated.
According to the director, in this way they “pushes towards strategies of survival and deprivation, to be able to sustain the important rise that they are suffering for an equal consumption. For this reason, it is imperative that measures be taken on time,” Cardona said.
The argument used by the company to make changes was that this rate benefited high-income households. To try to correct this point and “effectively” reach the vulnerable population with bonuses, the social bonus.
