Argentina to Raise Electricity Bills by as Much as 500 Percent

[Judi Lynn]

Argentina to Raise Electricity Bills by as Much as 500 Percent
by Charlie Devereux
January 29, 2016 — 3:48 PM CST

Subsidized electricity cost state $51 billion over 13 years

Govt plans to save $4 billion in 2016 by cutting subsidies

Argentina will raise electricity bills by as much as 500 percent in the greater Buenos Aires area as the new government seeks to eliminate a system of subsidies it said cost $51 billion over the past 13 years.

Rates will be divided into seven categories and users who cut consumption will receive discounts while about 900,000 consumers categorized as poor out of 4.2 million consumers will continue to receive assistance, Energy Minister Juan Jose Aranguren said at a news conference in Buenos Aires. As an example of the increase in rates, he said a user who consumes 180 kilowatts of electricity per month will now pay 150 pesos ($10.80), up from 25 pesos ($1.80) previously.

After Argentina posted the worst fiscal deficit in 30 years in 2015, newly-elected President Mauricio Macri is seeking to trim spending this year by reducing subsidies in energy and transport introduced by the previous government. The rise in electricity prices will allow the government to save about $4 billion this year and power companies to invest in a system that’s on the point of collapse, Aranguren said.

“We’re beginning on a path in which we can recover the economic cost of production and reassigning the subsidies the population receives,” he said.

More:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-29/argentina-to-raise-electricity-bills-by-as-much-as-500-percent

LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141330416

[MADem]

1. Ouch! That's a huge hike, no matter what you are paying.... nt

[forest444]

2. Macri's become the Maduro of the right wing.

An inflexible ideologue who refuses to listen even to those who sympathize with him (such as Bloomberg, which warned Macri not to enact precipitous changes simply because his supporters expected it - http://www.democraticunderground.com/110845637), surrounds himself with vindictive yes men, and ultimately proves counterproductive to both himself and his country.