During the meeting, businessmen and consumer representatives set out their position in the framework of the transitory adaptation of the tariffs for natural gas transportation and gas distribution through networks.
Regarding distributors, Metrogas requested a 190% increase from February 1 to April 30 and its subsequent adjustment every three months based on the wholesale price index.
According to the company, this level of increase considers inflation from 2020 to May 2023.
For its part, Naturgy requested 189%, also from the first day of next month, with quarterly adjustments “depending on the evolution of the economy” and in order to achieve “an urgent recomposition of income.”
The company explained that the impact of the increase on the bill of an average customer will be $1,648.
Camuzzi Gas requested an increase of 187% in the Pampas area and 273% in the southern part of the country.
With that increase, said the distributora, the minimum costs of operation and maintenance would be covered, the “unpostponable” investments would be made for the provision of the service and there would be no profitability for the company.
Meanwhile, Gasnor (which operates in the provinces of Santiago del Estero, Tucumán, Salta and Jujuy) estimated an increase of 189% was necessary.
The claim of the carriers
The carriers also claimed adjustments well above 100%: for example, TGN requested a transitory increase of 163% “due to the tariff delay accumulated in the last four years.”
The company indicated that from the April 2019 rate adjustment to November 2022, accumulated wholesale inflation was 473%, while the rate increased 60%.
This implies that TGN’s real income was reduced by almost a quarter, as a result of the rate delay, warned TGN, for which it maintained that “it is unavoidable to approve the transition rate regime, while we follow the path of rate renegotiation.”
The other carrier, TGS, requested an adjustment of 135%, a percentage that, for that company, “contemplates the economic situation of the country.”
With this increase, an average residential consumer in CABA with full rate will go from paying $2,587 to $3,013, in the case of Metrogas users.
On this point, TGS explained that the impact on the residential user of Metrogas the cost of transportation is the least relevant in the total bill, since it represents 9.8% of the average residential bill; then there are taxes, with 24.3%, the price of gas at the point of entry into the transportation system, 41.1%, and the distribution margin, with 24.8%.
According to this company, this level of increase will allow “starting a path of tariff recomposition, with the indispensable respect for the laws and commitments assumed by the State that make the legal security of our country.”
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
