Written by: Karim Hammam
The scheduled tax reductions on electricity and gas bills will not be activated in the upcoming month of November, after price indicators came in below the threshold set for triggering these measures. Under the approved regulatory legislation, restoring the reduced value-added tax of ten percent requires that the consumer price index for electricity or natural gas exceeds a rate of fifteen percent compared to the previous year.
In this context, accounting expert Cristóbal Monasor noted that the recorded increase stopped at a level of about eleven percent, a rate insufficient to trigger those reductions at the beginning of next month. He explained that the mechanism used does not depend on the general consumer price index or the individual increase of a specific bill, but is linked exclusively to the evolution of the specific quality index defined in the legal text regulating the matter.
Re-evaluating the situation in December
The possibility of implementing these reductions is scheduled to be re-evaluated by next December, based on the statistical data for October. These developments come in an economic environment witnessing high levels of inflation, which casts a shadow over the cost of living and energy prices for both individual consumers and companies alike.
With falling temperatures and the onset of winter, experts recommend reviewing gas supply contracts with great care. Current analyses indicate that the last resort tariff offers competitive prices compared to many free market offers available to consumers, with built-in comparison tools within the bills themselves to help subscribers choose what is best for their needs.
Tips for electricity consumption
In the electricity sector, experts advise the necessity of analyzing energy consumption times accurately, especially in regulated contracts, to take maximum advantage of the time periods during which renewable energy generation contributes to lowering overall prices. The legislation also leaves the door open to the possibility of restoring both the reduced value-added tax and the special tax rate on electricity in December, provided that the energy prices for October exceed the legally defined threshold.
