Argentina
Buenos Aires judiciary suspends electricity rate increase applied since August
An injunction ordered the tariff schedule for Edelap, EDES, EDEA and EDEN to be rolled back. It also ordered that amounts already charged with the increase be credited on upcoming bills.
The Buenos Aires judiciary suspended the electricity rate increase that had been applied since August in the province of Buenos Aires and ordered a return to the previous scheme for the distributors Edelap, EDES, EDEA and EDEN.
The decision was made by the Administrative Litigation Court No. 1 in Bahía Blanca, headed by Agustín López Coppola, following a precautionary measure filed by the provincial ombudsman, Guido Lorenzino, according to reports from La Nación and Todo Noticias.
The ruling suspended the effects of Resolution 585/2026 of the provincial Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Services, signed by the government of Axel Kicillof, which had ordered the tariff update affecting consumption recorded since August 1.
According to both outlets, the companies must apply the tariff schedule in place before the increase. In addition, if they have already charged the new rates, those amounts must be credited as a balance in favor on users’ next bill.
The legal challenge specifically questioned the lack of a prior stage of user participation before approving the increases, especially regarding the Distribution Added Value component. According to La Nación, the Ombudsman’s Office argued that before implementing new increases, a public hearing should have been held to guarantee access to information and citizen participation.
According to reports from La Nación and Todo Noticias, during the proceedings the province said there had been a prior hearing, but that instance dated back to 2016. For the judge, that precedent was not sufficient to justify new increases without an updated participation mechanism.
Todo Noticias added that the injunction also prevents new tariff schedules linked to the provincial components of the electricity bill from being applied while there is no prior stage of citizen participation. The case will continue until a final ruling is issued.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with assistance from artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
