Subsidies under scrutiny: The government moves forward with a "selective" cut and admits that rates will continue to rise.

In an economic context where adjustments are becoming commonplace, the Secretary of Energy and Mining Coordination , Daniel González , confirmed this Monday that the Government will continue with its policy of reducing subsidies , although it will do so in a "more selective" manner, and that increases in utility rates will remain aligned with inflation .

"Today, subsidies represent between 0.5 and 0.6% of GDP . This allows us to be more selective in how we move forward with their reduction," González said during an energy sector meeting organized by AmCham , the United States Chamber of Commerce in Argentina.

The official explained that electricity and gas rates, for both transmission and distribution companies , have already undergone their respective five-year reviews. Therefore, he assured that going forward, "they will maintain their values in real terms," without tariff delays.

He also stated that "demand went from paying 30% of the cost of energy to paying 80%," which, in his words, demonstrates strong progress in tariff harmonization , one of the current government's flagship initiatives to reduce the fiscal deficit.

Regarding the impact on people's pockets, González acknowledged that the administration monitors rates monthly with the goal of ensuring "the evolution doesn't differ significantly from the evolution of prices in general." Thus, energy policy maintains the approach of passing costs on to consumers while the state's cutback process continues.

Finally, the official was cautious when discussing the results in the energy sector: he anticipated that the region's trade balance will close just 10% higher than last year's, due to increased sales volume , but with falling prices on international markets.