Starting January 1, The government will implement a new support plan For residential electricity, gas and bottle users. New system This will mean eventual increases in bills for these services – an amount that has not been determined – and the loss of rewards.
There will no longer be a division by income levels (high, middle and low), as defined: There will be only two categories of users, those who will receive the subsidies and those who will not.. On the other hand, bonuses will not be applied uniformly throughout the year, however Only in months when energy consumption is higher.
Today, the Ministry of Energy published in the Official Gazette a decision regarding Guidelines for the new directed energy support system (SEF) has opened a public consultation that will last for 15 working days.
If there are no changes after this process, the system will begin to take effect from January 2026. As mentioned, This means price increases in some cases – depending on the type of user and time of year – and the loss of the bonus for 140,000 middle-income families.
Currently, 9.24 million electricity users and 5.13 million gas users receive direct support through the network. It’s about to Households with declared income of up to 3.5 Gross Basic Baskets (CBT)Equivalent to $4.25 million. Within this group, approximately 6 million electricity users and 2.89 million gas users are registered as low-income, with incomes of less than 1.5 CBT ($1.8 million).
The new threshold for receiving support will be three cash transfers (today $3.6 million).. Therefore, low-income users will automatically retain the benefits.
Due to the rise in informal employment The state will continue to analyze each user’s assets To detect cases where subsidies were granted inappropriately (as happened to 15% of Nordelta residents who requested aid).
Those who are already registered in the register receive energy subsidies (RASE) should not be registered again– Your data will be migrated automatically and It can be updated every month With acknowledgment.
In the field of electricity, eligible families will have A 50% bonus on a consumption block of up to 300 kWh per month in summer and winter, and 150 kWh in spring and autumn. If they exceed these limits, they will pay the full cost of the increase.
Until now, the subsidy has covered 100% of a block of up to 350 kWh per month for low-income people and up to 250 kWh for middle-income people. In practice, the state will subsidize a smaller monthly amount of electricity. The average annual housing cost is US$75 per kilowatt hour.
In the gas sector, only 50% subsidies will be applied between April and Septemberwhen residential consumption multiplies by five due to falling temperatures. For the rest of the year, all users will pay full priceEquivalent to US$3.80 per million British thermal units (the English measurement used in this sector).
The government also ordered this The price of gas for homes remains stable throughout the yearIn contrast to what happens in industry and commerce, where the value rises to $4.50 in the winter and falls to $2.90 in the summer when demand decreases. Supported consumable blocks will not be subject to any modifications because They take into account the seasonal needs of each region.
Exceptionally, during 2026, there will be an additional 25% bonus in January for both services.. Thus, electricity for that month will have a total subsidy of 75%, and gas – which has no subsidy in the summer – a 25% discount. This increase will be reduced by 2% per month until it disappears in December 2026.
According to the Department of Energy, with the new scheme, In months with high electricity demand, 35% of users pay an average bill of less than $22,000; 66% less than $44,000, and 81% less than $67,000.
in case Gas, during the winter, 56% would pay less than $14,000; 75% less than $56,000, and 83% less than $73,000.
Residential users today pay an average of 55% of the cost of electricity and gas. And with the new scheme In 2026, coverage will increase to 76% with electricity and 79% with gas.
High-income families (7.32 million electricity users and 4.46 million gas users) They will also feel the impact of the new scheme. They have so far paid a reference value that has been indirectly subsidized and does not reflect the true cost of the system. Starting in January, the Department of Energy will publish the true costs of gas and electricity. The change will also strongly impact industries and companies that have not signed long-term contracts. They have to pay the market price (spot) at every moment.
As for bottle users, 3.36 million beneficiaries of the home program will be integrated into the new system. They will receive a similar monthly bonus To the total value of a 10 kg bottle ($15,000) in the winter and 50% of the cost per month during the rest of the year.. As of January, they must register on the official website of the Ministry of Energy (www.argentina.gob.ar/subsidios).
The government’s goal is Reducing spending on energy subsidies from 0.65% of the expected GDP for this year to 0.5% ($3 billion). According to the 2026 draft budget, in 2024, these expenditures amounted to 0.9% of the GDP.
According to official sources, the registry purge process remained active throughout the year. There they were discovered, for example, 370,000 applications in the name of the deceased and 15,518 homes countries And rural clubs that receive financial subsidies as if they were low-income.
He added: “With this step, the government reaffirms its decision to regulate the energy subsidy policy, and to take care of the money and money of Argentines.” Moving towards a more just, transparent and sustainable system“Social assistance ceases to be a public good and once again performs its basic function: the protection of vulnerable residential users, within the framework of a clear scheme and with greater predictability of the impact of bills throughout the year,” said the Ministry of Energy.