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A table of new manufactured gas prices has been circulating since this weekend in WhatsApp groups among residents in Havana, according to a report by 14ymedio, although so far no official entity has confirmed the increase nor has any resolution been published in the Official Gazette.
The informal document states that the cubic meter will increase from 2.50 to 4.97 Cuban pesos (CUP), which represents an increase of 98.8%, almost double the rate that has been in effect since January 2021.
The message accompanying the table asks recipients to "notify their neighbors so that everyone can be informed in a timely manner" and acknowledges that the information is still awaiting official release: "In any case, it will be communicated through the company's official channels."
Neither the Manufactured Gas Company, nor Unión Cuba-Petróleo, nor the Ministry of Energy and Mines had published a communication on their websites confirming the new prices at the time this note was published.
The corresponding resolution has not been found in the Official Gazette either, leaving in question the effective date, the territorial scope of the measure, and the procedure for determining the consumption of homes without a meter.
The hardest blow would be felt by the so-called non-metered customers, those who do not have a meter and pay a fixed rate based on the number of residents.
According to the published table, households with one or two people would pay 99.40 CUP monthly for 20 cubic meters allotted; those with three to five people would pay 298.20 CUP for 60 cubic meters; and those with six or more would pay 397.60 CUP for 80 cubic meters.
These customers cannot reduce their bill through savings, as they are automatically assigned a consumption volume regardless of their actual usage.
The disconnection and reconnection service would also increase drastically: from 50 CUP, the rate set during the Ordering Task, to 370 CUP, according to the informal document.
The rate of 2.50 CUP per cubic meter was established in the extraordinary Official Gazette number 68, published on December 10, 2020, and has remained unchanged for over five years. If the increase is confirmed, it would be the first hike since then.
Manufactured gas is distributed through a network of pipelines in various municipalities of Havana and takes on special significance in the context of the prolonged blackouts that the island experiences, where it has become one of the few relatively stable alternatives for cooking.
In June, the Manufactured Gas Company announced plans to add 25,000 new customers in the capital this year, with only 16% of the capital's population having potential access to the network.
The informal dissemination of price changes and regulations through neighborhood groups before any official announcement is a recurring pattern in Cuba, where citizens learn about new measures through unofficial channels days or weeks in advance.
"Now all that's left is for the bill to arrive," commented a woman from Havana after receiving the schedule in her building's chat.
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