LA PLATA.– The Government of the Province of Buenos Aires, responsible for Axel Kicillofannounced that from January subsidies and social contributions in residential complexes will be abolished. The lost profit is enough 79,500 users: 69,900 correspond to the greater Buenos Aires area and another 12,600 within the province.
Separately, the government also announced that – in line with changes decided at national level – middle-income users will no longer receive the subsidy, while lower-income users will have to Sign up for a registration continue to maintain performance.
The announcement was made this morning by Government Minister Carlos Bianco. He reported that the change in the granting of subsidies within the energy policy of the Province of Buenos Aires, particularly in the allocation of the social tariff, responds to changes made by the National Energy Secretariat. He also stated that the new regulations will come into force from January 1, 2026.
“We don’t want our users to suddenly find that they will no longer receive subsidies due to this regulatory change at the national level,” Bianco said, explaining that the middle sector will be left without support.
So far, around 79,500 users who live in gated communities have received support through the social tariff. Of these, 66,900 users are in the greater Buenos Aires area in the EDENOR and EDESUR areas and around 12,600 in the rest of the province in the areas regulated by the OCEBA. “You will no longer receive subsidies, i.e. the social rate,” said the minister.
Mandatory registration
On the other hand, depending on the new energy subsidy system introduced by the state, which modifies and reduces the current level of support, there will also be changes for middle-income sectors that will no longer receive subsidies. In the meantime, lower-income households must register to continue accessing the benefit.
Currently, the National Energy Secretariat applies a segmentation that categorizes users as follows:
N1 users are people with high incomes, i.e. families with an income of more than three basic baskets. These received no subsidies.
N2 users are low-income and have less than an entire basic basket. Previously, they received a subsidy that decreased over time from 65% for consumption of up to 300 kWh per month. From this consumption level onwards, they paid the full rate; Up to this threshold they paid a 65% reduced rate.
N3 users are middle-income people, with incomes between one and 3.5 basic baskets. They received a subsidy of 50% for consumption up to 250 kWh per month; From this consumption point onwards, they paid the full tariff.
“This national system is in public consultation to approve a new modelwhich will now have two categories instead of three. One of these is called “subsidized households”. These are households with a total income of less than three basic baskets. This includes all former N2 users and a portion of users previously defined as N3. In this case, they will receive a consumption subsidy of up to 300 kWh per month in the months with the highest demand, i.e. essentially summer and winter, and a smaller subsidy of up to 150 kWh per month in the months with lower demand, i.e. in temperate climates,” explained Bianco.
“This is one category and then there will be another, which is households without subsidies. These are the households whose income is more than three basic baskets and who do not receive any subsidies,” he added.
Previously, the province of Buenos Aires had a system that partially reflected these criteria for determining subsidies. There were two user groups in the companies regulated by the OCEBA.
Group 1 consists of users with an income of less than two minimum, basic and mobile salaries per month. This is a definition at the individual level of who acts as the owner of the electrical supply. These users will continue to receive the social tariff in the province of Buenos Aires.
Group 2 corresponds to users with an income of less than an entire basic basket. They received a subsidy that decreased over time from 65% for consumption of up to 300 kWh per month. From this consumption point onwards, they paid the full rate; Up to this amount they paid a reduced rate of 65%.
If Group 2 is eliminated at the national level, Group 2 also falls into the province, since it was defined in mirror image in terms of the beneficiaries who also had to register in the register for access to energy subsidies.
“Therefore, we can continue to subsidize those Group 2 users who will be affected by the abolition of subsidies due to the changes made by the national government and continue to include them in the provincial social tariff as long as they are registered on the OCEBA website www.oceba.gba.gov.ar and obviously meet the conditions for receiving the energy subsidy,” concluded Bianco.
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