Decou said this Thursday that returning consumers to the regulated gas market “is the best option” in the face of high prices, but urged the government to cut VAT to further cut costs.
Speaking to Lusa, Ingride Pereira, a lawyer for the consumer protection association, said that “at the moment it is undoubtedly the best option for consumers to be able to return to the regulated market, because the regulated tariff is the cheapest and most affordable.” .
“We believe that this measure is positive and beneficial for consumers,” he said.
The government announced this Thursday that it will propose lifting existing legal restrictions to give families and small businesses access to a regulated market, subject to an increase announced on Wednesday.
“While we consider this measure positive, we understand that the Government could have gone further to lower the VAT rate on the electricity and gas bill and we believe that this measure would also be strictly necessary given this unprecedented and exceptional situation. in which consumers constantly face rising prices for basic utilities,” the lawyer said, pointing out that “other countries have also done the same.”
According to Ingride Pereira, the issue of access criteria to the social gas tariff should also be rethought. “In the case of electricity, households with an annual income equal to or less than 5,808 euros can access the social tariff, but this is not possible for gas,” and “you can use the social tariff only if you are a beneficiary.” certain social benefits, but this annual income is not taken into account,” he said.
“We believe that the criteria for access to the social tariff for gas should be the same as for electricity in order to support more consumers and families in the face of these increases,” he stressed.
When asked about the price increases announced by gas supply companies such as EDP, which will raise prices from October by an average of 30 euros per month plus taxes, Decaux’s lawyer said that “in view of the shortage of Russian gas and the increase in inflation that has occurred, it is “understandable” that this increase occurred, in fact, because the wholesale gas prices reached very high levels, with an increase of about 150%.
It was also “inevitable for the association that the government would take action to mitigate the impact this increase would have on Portuguese families, who have recently increased their food and essentials significantly.”
This increase worries the association, “which is constantly receiving requests for help from consumers who are already having difficulty paying their bills, and with this increase, the difficulties will increase, and it was important that the government take action,” he assured.
In addition, he pointed out, “it is important that consumers continue to pay attention to the market, that they conduct simulations to check which tariff is the cheapest and most suitable for their consumer habits, and that they try to find the best solution.” .
“The government has decided to propose removing existing legal restrictions to give families and small businesses access to a regulated market. [do gás natural]announced this Thursday the Minister of the Environment Duarte Cordeiro at a press conference.
According to the official, this measure covers 1.5 million consumers with an annual consumption of no more than 10,000 m3.
In the case of electricity, from 2018 it is possible to switch from the free market to a tariff equivalent to a regulated one, that is, while remaining a client of the company, the consumer can use the tariff determined by the Entidade Reguladora dos. Energy Services (ERSE).
In June, Deco launched a petition to allow the same for natural gas, as regulated market tariffs have become the cheapest option for most domestic consumers compared to the liberalized market.
The goal is for the measure to come into force on 1 October and remain in effect for 12 months, with changes to the legislation required.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
