The Government will subsidize 75% of the price of gas tickets to 4.7 million users in May due to the rise in oil

The measure aims to cushion the impact of the international rise in energy prices on the bills of lower-income users. It will reach 4,780,000 gas users.

The decision was formalized through Resolution 11/2026 of the Ministry of Energy, published in the Official Gazette, and is part of the Targeted Energy Subsidies (SEF) regime, created at the end of 2025. As established, users who already receive state assistance will have an additional 25% bonus during May, which is added to the current general 50%.

The subsidy scheme that came into effect this year established a “base” of 50% subsidized price for users reached by subsidies, plus an additional 25% that decreased every month (In April, for example, it was 18%).

The Government’s decision, specifically, is that in May it will once again be exceptionally 25%. It would then continue to be reduced throughout the year.

According to the official statement, the measure responds to “the international situation, which generated a rise in fuel prices globally” and aims to “moderate the impact on the final bill for the most vulnerable users.”

In this sense, it was specified that “during May, the beneficiaries of natural gas and propane through the network, incorporated within the SEF regime, will receive a 75% total bonus on the subsidized consumption block”.

The regulatory decree of the scheme already contemplated the possibility of applying temporary reinforcements. In particular, article 8 of Decree 943/25 enabled an extraordinary additional bonus of up to 25% on base consumption, in order to ensure a gradual transition in the restructuring of subsidies. On this occasion, the Government decided to take this additional amount to the maximum allowed for gas during May.

In the recitals of the norm, the Executive argued that the international energy context is affected by “rising geopolitical tensions in strategic regions”, which increased the volatility of gas prices.

He also pointed out that, although Argentina has its own production, it maintains integration with the global market through imports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), so external variations impact the supply cost.

In this framework, it was indicated that “variations in international prices directly impact the cost of supplying natural gas at the Point of Entry to the Transportation System (PIST)”, which justifies the decision to temporarily reinforce state assistance.

The resolution establishes that the Additional 25% bonus will be applied exclusively during May 2026 and will reach both residential users and non-profit entities, such as neighborhood clubs and public good organizations, that are included in the regime.

In parallel, the Government maintains the trajectory of reducing subsidies in the case of electricity unchanged. According to the statement, in that segment “the gradual reduction of the extraordinary bonus is maintained, which It started at 25% in January and will end at 0% in December of this year”.

The measure is part of the official policy of reformulating the energy subsidy scheme, which seeks to concentrate assistance on lower-income sectors.

The Executive maintains that the new system aims to be “simpler, more transparent and sustainable”, while organizing the relationship between rates and costs and providing predictability about the impact of invoices throughout the year.