The cost of Public Services Basket For an average home of Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA) It reached $ 142,548 per month, 42% more than in the same month of the previous year, but with a 2.8% drop compared to March.
The information belongs to the latest report of the Rate and Subsidies Observatory of the IIEP (UBA-Conicet). The monthly decrease is explained mainly due to the seasonal low in electric power consumption And for a day less in the month, which reduced water consumption. However, there were tariff increases in all services: electricity rose 3.5% in the fixed position and 1.4% in the variable; The gas increased 2.5% and 0.6%, respectively; and transport in the AMBA rose on average 2.6%.
According to the report, the monthly decrease is mainly explained by the Baja seasonal in electric power consumption And for a day less in the month, which reduced water consumption. However, There were tariff increases in all services: electricity rose 3.5% in the fixed position and 1.4% in the variable; The gas increased 2.5% and 0.6%, respectively; and transport in the AMBA rose on average 2.6%.
Users paid 60% of the cost of services
One of the most relevant data of the report is that, on average, AMBA users 60% of the real cost of services (last month was 54%) while the State subsidizes the remaining 40%. In the case of electricity, coverage reaches 63%, and in natural gas, 53%. However, there are large differences according to the level of income: users N1 (high income) pay 100% of the electrical cost and 88% of the gas, while the N2 (low income) only cover 30% of electricity and 23% of the gas.
In parallel, more than 2.1 million households ceased to be considered low income (N2) and were reclassified as N1 or N3 (average income), which impacted the average coverage and reduction of public spending on subsidies.
An important fact that highlights the report is the relationship between salaries and expenses in public services. The estimated Ripte salary in April indicates that the weight of the energy services of a user N 1, N 2 and N 3 represent 4.7%, 3.1% and 3.5% of the indicator respectively. On the other hand, taking the minimum income of each revenue segment, the average invoice of public and gas services in the AMBA has a weight of 1.6% for N 1, 7% for N 2 and 4.3% for N 3.
Strong fall in subsidies
The report also reveals a drastic drop in state subsidies. As of April 17, real subsidies accumulated to energy, water and transport were reduced by 69% year -on -year. The contributions to Cammesa fell 71%, while those destined for enarsa collapsed 97%, partly due to the decrease in natural gas imports. In total, The subsidy spending went from $ 2 billion in April 2024 to less than $ 1 billion in the same month of 2025.
What about collective rates
As of the month of March 2025, a Mecca-Nismo update of the public transport rate is governed for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. For the month of March, in both jurisdictions, the increase in rates was 10%, while in the subsequent months the rates will grow at the same rate as the evolution of the CPI measured by INDEC to which it will be added by 2%.
In the case of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, the reference index for the update of subway and collective rates is the national CPI, while for the province of Buenos Aires the index used is the IPC GBA. Thus, attentive to the fact that the lines under national jurisdiction continue with their frozen rate since August 2024, the collective service has 3 different tariff paintings: one for the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, another for the provincial lines and another corresponding to the national jurisdiction lines.
In this context, transport expenditure represents 43% of the total basket and is higher than the combined gas and electricity. In April, the technical cost of the collective ticket in the AMBA was $ 1,378, compared to a regulated value of $ 1,019, which reflects a 35%gap. In addition, the rates of the interior of the country – without the compensation fund eliminated in 2024— They exceed $ 1,000 in cities such as Bariloche, Córdoba or Rosario.
Source: Ambito
