Argentina. From January, Argentines of high socioeconomic levels will receive their electricity bill with full tariff, as announced by the national government of the gaucho country; this is due to the repeal of electricity subsidies for this population group.
This means that keeping an air conditioner on for eight hours a day, at low temperatures, as is currently the case, will cost approximately US$25 per month or more. According to Argentine analysts, if you have as a base a team of 2,200 refrigerators, with a power of 1,350 watts, which consumes 1.03 kw / h, the estimated consumption will be 300 kw per two months. The cost of subsidized energy is $0.086 (US$0.02) for a bimonthly total of $42.5 (about US$10). However, without the subsidy and with the new rate, the cost will be $0.42 (US$0.09), multiplied by eight hours of use, concluding in an expense of $207.60 (US$48.5) per two months. For this reason, manufacturers foresee a decrease in sales of this type of equipment. It should be remembered that in 2010 950,000 units were sold in Argentina, when temperatures above 35° Celsius were recorded. This year a positive close was expected, with 4% above the sales of the previous year according to Eduardo Echevarría, analyst at the consulting firm GFK, but with this announcement everything remains to be seen. On the other hand, Alejandro Mayoral, president of the Association of Argentine Electronics Terminal Factories (Afarte), considered that the demand will migrate towards more efficient devices, which consume less energy. He argued that the only element that moves the market is temperature, not the cost of energy.
