Luis Caputo steps on the gas: the government adjusts electricity and gas rates amid deflation.

In a new step toward restoring relative prices , the national government has advanced a series of tariff adjustments that will directly impact residential users' electricity and gas bills. The measure, promoted by Economy Minister Luis Caputo , was formalized by the Ministry of Energy through resolutions published this Monday in the Official Gazette.

The area headed by María Tettamanti was responsible for implementing these changes. She received direct instructions from Caputo to implement a tariff update path for August 2025 , in a context that the official himself described as one of “ notable inflationary slowdown .”

As stated in a letter signed by the head of the Treasury, the central objective is to " maintain prices and rates at real values as constant as possible ," without neglecting the need to clarify the true costs of public energy services to avoid their structural deterioration .

Among the most significant provisions, NA reported, a 6.6% surcharge was established on the price of natural gas at the Transmission System Entry Point (PIST) . This increase will affect both residential consumption and distributors' own consumption . In turn, a 4.04% reduction was defined on the base price of gas before the surcharge was applied.

Regarding the transportation and distribution segment, the Government ordered ENARGAS to implement increases based on the results of the five-year tariff reviews , which could translate into additional increases for users during the second half of the year.

On the electricity side, significant adjustments are also expected: remuneration for non-contracted generators will increase by 0.4% starting with August transactions, while between August 1 and October 31 , the Reference Power Prices (POTREF) , the Stabilized Energy Price (PEE) and high-voltage electricity transmission costs will be adjusted.

These modifications, although technically phased and justified as part of the process of "normalizing the energy system," represent a direct blow to the pockets of millions of Argentines, just as the government is trying to consolidate its anti-inflationary rhetoric .

Caputo, in line with President Javier Milei 's ideology, insists that the State cannot sustain subsidized services at the expense of the fiscal deficit . However, questions are beginning to grow among middle and lower-income sectors, who are seeing subsidies cut while wages remain far behind the authorized increases.

The underlying debate returns: to what extent is a system without subsidies viable if there are no substantial improvements in purchasing power? In the meantime, users should prepare: the bills arriving in September will bring some news, and not exactly good ones .