Workers and retirees reported that they received very high electricity and gas bills, a strong adjustment decided by the Milei government to reduce subsidies. According to the Interdisciplinary Institute of Political Economy (IIEP), the cost of the AMBA public services basket increased 374% as a result of the updates to transportation rates (January and February), electricity (February and June), water and natural gas (April and June) compared to December 2023.
The report indicates that the highest increase was in gas bills. IIEP points out that “in the breakdown by service, it is observed that the most significant increase in the final rate was for natural gas with an increase of 1,208% compared to December 2023 and is explained both by the increase in rates in April and June and by seasonal consumption at the winter peak. In turn, spending on transportation increased by 410%, on water by 249% and on electricity by 229%.”
Privatized companies continue to party with Milei
While the pockets of the poor suffer from high rates, low wages and pensions, privatized companies earned millions in the first months of the year. According to a report by CIFRA, Metrogas earned 19.116 million pesos in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 1,630% compared to the same period in 2023, and Edesur 50.867 million pesos in the first three months of the year. That is to say that Both companies earned $769 million per day in 2024. A very far cry from what an average worker or retiree earns, the minimum salary in July with a bonus was $285,622.
The business of these companies is not new. Public services were privatized during the Menem administration, and subsequent governments maintained this scheme, including Kirchnerism and the Frente de Todos government. Thus, there is a division of the stages of generation, transportation and distribution of electricity and gas, where different private companies operate. Meanwhile, the service was degraded, summer arrived and so did the power cuts.
We must end the business of privatized companies, and that the entire energy system (that is, all stages of production: resource extraction, electricity generation, transportation and distribution to users) be nationalized, through expropriation without any compensation to the current concessionaires, and be managed by the workers and specialized technicians themselvesmaking a national sustainable plan to guarantee the population a cheap and quality service and to carry out the energy transition.
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
