Buenos Aires, December 23 (NA) – The national government formalized the closure of the public consultation aimed at modifying the assistance scheme for public utilities, paving the way for the implementation of the new Focused Energy Subsidies (SEF) system. The citizen participation procedure concluded at 00:00 hours on December 20, 2025, as established in Resolution 592/2025, published this Tuesday in the Official Bulletin. During the fifteen business-day period, the authority in charge received submissions from users, distribution companies, regulatory bodies, and consumer associations. The project contemplates the readjustment of reference prices for natural gas at the Point of Entry to the Transportation System (PIST), propane, and the Seasonal Price of Electricity (PEST). The income criterion is complemented by automatic exclusions based on assets. The system is divided into two categories: 'households with subsidies' and 'households without subsidies'. Users already registered in the old RASE system are automatically migrated to the new RESEF (Registry of Focused Energy Subsidies), although the implementing authority will conduct periodic audits to ensure compliance with the income criterion. The subsidy covers only that difference. The Income Criterion will respond to the following specific parameters. A household is excluded from the subsidy, regardless of its declared income, if any of its members meets these conditions: Ownership of a motor vehicle less than 10 years old (except for people with disabilities); Ownership of two or more real estate properties; Ownership of boats, aircraft, or luxury goods; Maintaining prepaid health services not linked to dependent employment or registering high expenditures in foreign currency. Under the income criterion, access to the subsidy is restricted to households whose total monthly income is less than 3 Total Basic Baskets (CBT), according to INDEC measurements. As of December 2025, this threshold stands at approximately $3,640,000. The previous system allowed incomes of up to 3.5 CBT; the new regulation reduces this margin, which implies the exit from the benefit for a portion of the population previously categorized as medium income (Level 3).
