Gas tariff: the increase will be greater than 35% despite Lopetegui's estimate

The energy secretary questioned the calculation of his predecessor, Javier Iguacel, and estimated that the increase would be 30%. However, oil companies have inflated the value.

February 15, 2019

The Secretary of Energy, Gustavo Lopetegui, criticized the calculation made by his predecessor, Javier Iguacel, and badured that the gas will not increase by 35% but will have a maximum increase of 30%. However, the wholesale gas auction for residential users has shown that the rate would be higher than the 35% announced from April.

At a meeting with various journalists, Lopetegui questioned: "I do not know what accounts he did, Maybe he has estimated a dollar higher. But with this new price This gives us a maximum limit of 30%. "

According to the BAE newspaper, the first wholesale gas auction did not meet expectations, we change because the average price in dollars reached was 18.5% higher than the market forecast.

In turn, the Executive Cabinet and the right hand of Marcos Peña, ratified that the light will increase by 55% and left open the possibility that there will be no new rates in the second half during the election period.

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If we only achieve an increase of 30%, it will depend on what happens in the second half of the year. If the government decided, as in 2017, to restrict election rates, the rise in the price of gas would be close to the estimate of inflation established by the Central Bank.

Lopetegui, one of the favorite officials of Elisa Carrió, returned to the Cabinet after being moved from the government in September, with his partner Mario Quintana and he got to occupy the energy secretary, after the resignation of Iguacel.