Global Courant 2023-04-29 16:00:55
On Monday, May 1, the new electricity rates for the quarter from May 1 to July 31 for users of Empresa Eléctrica de Guatemala, SA (EEGSA), as well as for Distribuidora de Occidente, SA ( Deocsa), and Distribuidora de Oriente, SA (Deorsa), which are part of Energuate.
The National Electric Energy Commission (CNEE) set the non-social rate (which includes consumption of 300 kilowatt hours per month -kWh- onwards), at Q2.33 per kWh for Deocsa; and of Q2.20 for Deorsa; while for the EEGSA it is Q1.47 per kWh.
These figures do not imply changes with respect to those of the quarter that ends, although if compared to May 2022 in one year they rose Q0.06 in EEGSA and Q0.07 in Energuate.
The Non-Social Rate is applied to approximately 200,000 users (homes or businesses), equivalent to 6% of the total in the country.
Social rate
For the Social Rate segment that includes users with consumptions from 0 to 300 kWh in the period from May 1 to July 31, the rate will be Q2.20 for Deocsa; Q2.10 for Deorsa and Q1.38 for EEGSA, which have no changes compared to those that have been applied for the quarter from February to April.
However, interannual increases are observed between the quarter from May to July 2023 with respect to the same period of 2022. In the case of EEGSA, in one year the Social Tariff increased Q0.06 (4.5%), while those of Energuate rose Q0.08 (around 4%).
The Social Tariff is applied to 3.4 million consumers (around 94% of the total), which is covered with two types of subsidies: to those who consume from 1 to 125 kWh, through the National Institute of Electrification (Inde), according to the criteria defined by said institution, which benefits some 2.4 million users, adds the CNEE.
In the case of those who consume between 1 and 88 kWh per month, a normal Inde subsidy is maintained, plus the extraordinary contribution authorized due to fuel price increases.
In addition, the Congress of the Republic approved decree 1-2023 last January, which established an extension to include in the subsidy the group of users who consume between 89 and 125 kWh per month. For this segment, the benefit is valid until June 30, 2023; If it is not expanded, users in this segment must start paying the full social rate as of next July 1.
“It is due to diversification”
The CNEE explained in a bulletin that “despite the upward trends in fuel costs in recent years and the global inflationary spiral, which have affected the price of electricity, the diversification of the generation matrix in Guatemala has made it possible to maintain stable energy prices for regulated users”.
For this reason, the regulatory body sees it necessary to continue diversifying the energy matrix and developing more generation projects with renewable resources. At the moment, the fourth tender for long-term contracts of 235 megawatts is in force in the sector, within the Generation Expansion Plan (PEG-4).
The CNEE approved the report on the projection of the costs of the Wholesale Market and the calculation of the energy and power prices to be transferred to the rates for each of the distributors, and the final rates that these companies must apply to the users to whom provide the final distribution service of electrical energy, according to resolutions 87-2023 and 118-2023, disclosed in the Diario de Centro América.
How is the subsidy applied in the social rate?
In the consumption range from 0 to 125 kWh, the subsidy is applied in such a way that users only have to pay the following part, and the institution covers the rest:
Consumption from 1 to 60 kilowatt hours per month, the user must only pay Q0.50 per kWh per month. Those in the consumption range of 61 to 88 kWh per month only pay Q0.92 per kWh. And, those from 89 to 125 kWh, pay only Q1 per kWh.
The INDE mentions as an example that if a user consumes 60 kWh per month, the energy bill in the area covered by Deocsa and Deorsa would be between Q148 and Q154, but when applying the subsidy, the amount drops and they would pay around Q72 and Q75. In the case of EEGSA, the charge would go from Q95 to Q57.
If you are on the social rate, but consume between 126 and 300 kWh per month, you no longer receive the ordinary and extraordinary subsidy and must pay the full or full social rate. If you consume 150 kWh per month, in Deocsa and Deorsa you will only have to pay for energy between Q315 and Q328, and in EEGSA, around Q207.
In both examples, the estimated energy payment is included, but to the total bill, the distributor adds fixed charges, 12% value added tax (VAT) and the public lighting rate, which is different in each municipality.
In the case of the non-social rate, for consumption greater than 300 kWh per month, apart from the fact that the price is higher, no subsidy is applied. For example, for a consumption of 350 kWh per month, in Deorsa and Deocsa you will have to pay between Q766 and Q812, and in EEGSA, around Q514 for energy, plus the charges mentioned above.
