The Secretary of Energy proposed today adjustments in the different stages of transport and distribution of electricity so that they are reflected in an increase of “between 17% and 20%” in the rate established in the users’ bill.
This was stated by the National Director of Regulation of the Wholesale Electricity Market, Marcelo Positino, when presenting at the beginning of the public hearing to analyze the proposals for a new temporary tariff schedule for the distributors Edenor and Edesur, which operate in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires. Aires (AMBA) under the purview of the National Electricity Regulatory Entity (ENRE)
“Pricing is proposed to be defined in such a way that its final impact on users’ bills ranges between 17% and 20%,” Positino said.
The public hearing is chaired by the ENRE comptroller, María Soledad Manín, and began at 8:08 a.m. with a brief intervention by the Secretary of Energy, Darío Martínez, who stated as a premise the “commitment” of the Government so that “rate increases are always lower than the evolution of wages”.
Positino pointed out in his presentation that in 2021, in a context of growth in demand and generation, there was a water emergency characterized by the sharpest drop in the flow of the Paraná River in 77 years.
Consequently, the generation of hydroelectric energy fell 17.1% and had to resort to greater thermal generation (with greater fuel consumption, which in the case of diesel grew by 137%) and, to a lesser extent, by renewable energies.
#Now. Starting the Public Hearing convened to determine the 2022 electricity tariff regimes. pic.twitter.com/ZScfn4YNwb
– Darío Martínez (@dariomartinezpj) February 17, 2022
“Due to these circumstances, costs are expected to increase in 2022 compared to 2021,” the official warned.
Likewise, he pointed out that if electricity subsidies increased in 2021, it was “mainly due to generation costs, due to devaluation and fuel prices”, which represented an additional value of $394,326 million.
In this sense, he indicated that in order to face these higher costs “the 17 largest distributors in the country increased their rates in 2021 by an average of 23%”.
On the other hand, Positino assured that if a 40% increase in the final user rate had been granted in February 2021, “the subsidies would have decreased by 16%”.
