The national government authorized a new gas price increase, which will come into effect next Wednesday, April 1st. It did so through Resolutions 371 and 372 published this Monday in the Official Bulletin and processed by Argentine News Agency. The measure includes updating gas prices at the Point of Entry to the Transportation System (PIST), a new tier of the Five-Year Tariff Review (RQT), and the monthly inflation adjustment. In this way, the lowest monthly fixed charge (Category R1) will be $3,824 in the City of Buenos Aires and $4,416 in the metropolitan area. On the other hand, the National Gas Regulatory Entity ordered that bills must reflect the Uniform Annual Price (PAU) for the calculation of social benefits. This variable is the value on which discounts are applied for vulnerable sectors within the current subsidy system. Regarding the implementation of the gas cost, the regulation indicates that “the PAU will apply to gas consumptions carried out during the year 2026 and from the date the tariff tables come into effect”. This value is independent of other supply costs, such as regasified natural gas, which are not considered for bonuses. Regarding the state assistance system, the resolutions clarify that after the creation of the Focused Energy Subsidies (SEF) regime, “bonuses would apply exclusively to the average weighted annual cost of the price resulting from the Gas Plan.Ar”. This seeks to ensure that vulnerable residential users maintain access to basic consumption. Licensee companies are obliged to publish the new tables in high-circulation newspapers within the next ten business days. The increase resulting from the five-year review will be completed through 31 consecutive monthly increases, according to the schedule defined by the Ministry of Economy. At high consumption levels (R4), fixed charges exceed $91,000 per month in the Buenos Aires territory. The new values are framed within the seasonal mobile tariff model that the Energy Secretariat began to apply.
