of average bill amount Percentage of electricity households in Buenos Aires metropolitan area pay for in November The total amount amounted to $38,587, the lowest level of Javier Millay’s entire management, and comparable in real terms to its value in the 1990s.according to a report by the UADE Economic Research Institute.
According to historical analysis, the cost of electricity energy basket in December was 2015 was the lowest in 30 yearsequivalent to $4,011 at November 2025 prices. At the other extreme, The maximum value was recorded in February 2024currently worth $79,292, while the historical average is about $26,822.
Over the past 30 years, The difference between the highest and lowest price was 20 times.This reflects the high price volatility that households face when paying for public services. According to the report, the real value of current electricity prices is 53% below the peak observed in February 2024.
Historically, electricity price fluctuations have been more affected. Changes in political orientation and electoral landscape than the actual cost of providing the service. It is common for governments to apply interest rate adjustments after the election process, but before that, to reduce the amount of increase or freeze prices.
So, The current average bill is 40% higher than historical averages, but its share of payroll is the lowest in decades. Still, current costs remain more than double the lowest levels recorded during the previous administration.
Service and income ratio
Argentinian family every month They allocate a portion of their income to cover the cost of public services. It includes consumption that is part of household expenditure, such as electricity, water, and gas supplies. The supply of electrical energy to households is a public service and is therefore regulated by the state to ensure social equality and welfare.
Therefore, the price of residential consumption charges is set by a resolution of the National Electricity Regulatory Authority (ENRE), which depends on the Ministry of Economy (MECON), which in turn depends on the National Executive Authority (PEN). The level of tariffs is therefore determined in part by the social and political context that gives rise to national policy, and these usually vary across national administrations.
In the UADE analysis, the development of electricity price levels in the City of Buenos Aires (CABA) is analyzed based on the different administrations that have been in charge of PEN from 1996 to the present. Two options were used for evaluation. Real base and salary effort amountchanges in the level of electricity prices, discounting the significant impact that inflation has on all prices in the Argentine economy.
Both consist of observing evolution. 250kWh consumption basket. The first alternative is based on updating all monthly baskets to a constant currency of purchasing power in November 2025. The second approach consists of relativizing each monthly basket based on the average registered private sector salary. In this way, the weight of the power usage basket in the average reward for each period is determined..
The methodology allows price changes to be evaluated independently without affecting purchasing power, and thus real prices. The other, more precisely, Efforts faced by families to pay for servicesdo not necessarily reflect changes in salaries, i.e. changes in prices that are decoupled from family efforts.
Government tariff policy
With both approaches, we observe the following during the period: Electricity prices remained constant in real terms in 1996-1999 and 2001-2002However, there is significant variability when it comes to salaries. Such variability is explained more by the reduction in purchasing power of average compensation than by changes in rates.
from A significant decrease is observed from 2003 to 2015. Calculate the cost of electrical energy both in real terms and as a percentage of salary. However, when compared to average compensation, the decrease is even more pronounced; Increased purchasing power of salary At this time of year.
During the period From 2016 to 2019, real interest rates rose moderatelyOn the other hand, the proportion of salary increased significantly, and real salary decreased significantly.
From 2020 to 2023, the electricity consumption basket first decreases and then increases significantly, both in real quantity and effort. Finally, A significant increase was observed at the beginning of 2024, after which there has been a continuous decline to date, resulting in the lowest values in Millais management.
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