Congress reversed the forgiveness of debts with Edenor and Edesur

Among other economic issues, energy issues generated noise among the opposition, which ended up delivering a legislative defeat to Javier Milei’s government.

In an article on which the Nation insisted again after a failure in the Bases Law in mid-2024, the opposition reversed the changes to the subsidy regime for cold areas.

The Government intended to return to the original scheme, in force between 2002 and 2021, which only discounted 50% of the price of natural gas at the wellhead – without transportation or distribution – to users in Patagonia, Malargüe (Mendoza) and Puna.

Kirchnerism had expanded these benefits to a good part of the country in 2021, with new 30% bonuses. The Trust Fund for Residential Gas Consumption Subsidies was funded by the contributions of all other users who are in non-cold areas, as a cross-subsidy. And it was historically surplus, until last year it turned negative.

That is why the Government this year expanded the surcharge eight times, from 6% to 7.5% – the maximum established by law – on the price of gas.

The trust fund for cold areas is the only one that the Government committed to maintain after the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But it insistently tries to focus it exclusively on very cold areas and not on the Buenos Aires towns of La Plata or Mar del Plata.

Peronist deputy Jimena López had warned that only in the province of Buenos Aires was the benefit for 1,300,000 families, who will now preserve it, at risk.

On the other hand, Deputies also shot down the project for the Government to determine the differences in income not received by Edenor and Edesur due to the freezing of rates that began in 2002, and for which both distributors claim a total sum equivalent to 3.5 billion dollars.

This amount would be offset by the debts that the companies accumulated with the Wholesale Electricity Market Administration Company (Cammesa) by not paying for the energy, and which were regularized through successive installment payment plans.

The millionaire forgiveness of cross debts would also leave a balance against the State and in favor of the distributors controlled by José Luis Manzano, Daniel Vila and Mauricio Filiberti in the case of Edenor and by Enel, of the State of Italy, in the case of Edesur.

The Government is trying to find a solution to avoid the risk of possible trials in international courts, but for now it has not yet found a method that would achieve political validation for this.

Meanwhile, another of the articles in the rejected chapter extended fiscal stability for renewable energy projects for 20 more years – until December 2045.

Through this project, renewable energies “will not be taxed or covered by any type of specific tax, canon or royalties, whether national, provincial, municipal or from the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires”, such as a ‘wind tax’ that some mayor might come up with.

Congress’s refusal caused anger and concern among companies in the sector, which claim not to want subsidies but need stability so that investments continue to arrive.