The price of energy will remain unchanged for the next three months, in compliance with the order given by President Nayib Bukele to prevent households from being affected by increases in the international market.
According to the regulations of the General Electricity Law, the second rate adjustment of the year was scheduled for April. One of the elements that most influences the calculation of rates is the price of a megawatt hour (MW/h), which has risen by up to 89% compared to last year. This predicted a notable increase in the cost of this service.
However, President Bukele ordered in March that the end users do not bear the increase but rather that it be assumed by the government.
“In compliance with President Bukele’s order, we announce that the price of energy will not change for the next three months, benefiting the Salvadoran population,” said the General Superintendency of Electricity and Telecommunications (SIGET), the supervisory body in charge of announcing the tariff schedules.
This provision of the President’s responds to the 11 measures against world inflation that he put in place since last month to protect the population from the trend of high prices in the international market.
The head of the Ministry of Economy (MINEC), María Luisa Hayem, celebrated that the stabilization of the energy rate is in force: “From the Government of President Bukele, we continue to implement measures to alleviate the pockets of salvadorans.”
In a similar line, the interim head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), Enrique Parada, pointed out that “there are producers that use electric motors in their plants or agricultural machinery. This is very good news for them” he noted.
In fact, in relation to Minister Parada’s comment, it is important to note that having a rate without increases will also help productive activities of all scales to better manage their costs in a difficult international scenario, with historically high prices in all nations. .
The measure announced by SIGET is integrated with the rest of the prices that are temporarily fixed: gasoline, diesel, public transport tickets, propane gas and drinking water. Additionally, all institutions have closely monitored inventories and sales of basic products to ensure that suppliers are passing on economic benefits to Salvadoran consumers.