Institutional Framework for Water Tariffs in the Buenos Aires Concession, Argentina

Abstract

The institutional frameworks for water tariffs in Argentina have their own special features. Some refer to the different types of users, i.e. public, industrial or household, whereas others consider the utilities providing the service in terms of whether the utility concerned is a public or private operation, or to the governmental water resources policy. The pricing of the service and the tariff schedule is the outcome of the assessment of these related components. The focus of this paper is on the legal and institutional regulatory frameworks for water tariffs in Argentina primarily for the single utility providing water and sanitation services to the city of Buenos Aires and the Greater Buenos Aires area.

Notes

To establish the terms of the concession a Technical Commission for the Privatization of OSN was established in 1991 by Resolution No. 97 of the Ministry of Economy, dated 16 April 1991, published in the Official Gazette on 10 May 1991.

The 17 districts are: Vicente López, San Isidro, San Fernando, Tigre, San Martín, Tres de Febrero, Hurlingham, Ituzaingó, Morón, La Matanza, Esteban Echeverría, Ezeiza, Almirante Brown, Lomas de Zamora, Quilmes, Lanús y Avellaneda.

The old works covers 3000 ha of the 20 000 ha of the city.

Decree 993/93, published in the Official Gazette on 21 May 1993.

According to estimates, ETOSS' budget for the year 2001 was in the region of US$10 million with a staff of 110 employees. To make a comparison, this significant figure amounts to one-third of the US$30 million annual budget for the utility's sewerage network expansion.

Decree 200/2000, partially amending Decree 20/1999, Section 1, subsection 11 on concession's authority.

Approved by Decree 787/1993.

In Argentine law, which follows the French Administrative Law model, concession is a contract whereby the government grants to a private party the right to operate a utility whose assets belong to the public domain and should be returned at the end of the concession.

Statute No. 23696, Section 57.

Statute No. 23696, Section 58, second paragraph.

Decree No. 999/92, Section 7.

The discharge into the Río de la Plata river is made at four points: (1) The north wastewater plant, discharging approximately 70000 m³/day; (2) The south-west wastewater plant, discharging approximately 160 000 m³/day; (3) The Berazategui plant, pumping approximately 1.9 million/m³/day of untreated wastewater; and (4) The New Dock pumping plant, receiving the unmeasured discharge of the oldest works of the city of Buenos Aires by means of three mains receiving sewage and rainfall jointly.

Section 2340, subsections 3rd and 5th of the Civil Code.

Argentina, National Constitution, Section 75, subsections 10th and 18th.

Decree 999/92, Chapter IV, of the concessionaire, Section 29 on Duties and functions of the concessionaire, subsections (r); (s); (t); and (u).

l/h/d: litres per inhabitant per day.

The additional charges included infrastructure charges until 1995, when it was abandoned and different charges were included, namely, the expansion charge for marginal areas (SU) and the charge for environmental issues which have not been previously considered (MA). VAT at an average of 28% is applied to SUMA charges. There is also a charge to finance the regulatory agency, ETOSS.

Section 52, Decree 999/92.

Improvement and Expansion Programme: PMES (Plan de Mejoras y Expansión del Servicio).

Article published in the La Nación Buenos Aires' newspaper on 10 January 2001.

K index: Index applied to sanitation services and to be determined by the Regulator.

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, at present Ministry of Sustainable Development.

Statute No. 13577, Legal Framework for National Water Works, 29 October 1949, O.G. 2 November 1949.

24 The news was published in the La Prensa Buenos Aires' newspaper that same day.

25 Aguas Argentinas SA made a tender to select law firms for debt collection and since 1996, 45 000 law suits were filed before local courts. The residual OSN is as yet following proceedings for unpaid billings before privatization.