Bolivia Regulator Sees Power Bills Up 1.44%

BOLIVIA · ENERGY

Bolivia’s electricity regulator expects power bills to rise 1.44% on average after a new decree changed how tariffs follow the dollar. The government says Supreme Decree 5750 only protects households from sudden jumps, while economists and engineers expect bigger rises over time.

For US readers, this is a first look at how Bolivia’s June switch to a floating dollar now reaches ordinary budgets and business costs. Foreign firms in mining and energy, and expats who pay Bolivian power bills, face tariffs that track the exchange rate and inflation each month.

What Decree 5750 Changes in the Tariff Formula

The decree amends the 2001 Price and Tariff Regulation and the Electricity Market Operation Regulation, Los Tiempos reported. It sets equations that update node prices, transmission tolls, investment costs and base distribution tariffs.

The equations use four inputs: the official dollar rate of the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB), the monthly consumer price index of the statistics institute INE, the fuel price at power plants and import duties on equipment. The regulator, market operators and the national load dispatch committee must apply them from publication.

Before the decree, the formula took the dollar rate of about the 24th or 25th of the month, regulator chief Arturo Dávalos Yoshida said. Now it uses an average, so the September bill reflects the rate from 25 July to 25 August, he said.

Vice Minister of Electricity Rudy Peredo said about 40% of the tariff structure follows the dollar and the other 60% follows consumer prices. He added that the structure, in force for 23 years, is unchanged and only the exchange-rate reference is updated.

What the Government and the Regulator Say

Presidential spokesman José Luis Gálvez said on Wednesday 14 October that the decree does not raise the price of electricity, and the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energies said the same day that it sets no percentage increase and freezes no tariffs, El Deber reported. Gálvez said it is meant to keep tariffs from rising abruptly, because the criteria have been reviewed every month for 25 years.

Dávalos told the broadcaster Unitel that a customer who paid Bs 100 (about US$8.55) a month will pay Bs 101.44 (about US$8.68). All dollar figures here use the BCB official rate of Bs 11.69 per US$1, valid for 17 to 19 October.

He called 1.44% a national average, so the amount varies by distribution company. The regulator estimated 1.33% to 1.55% for September bills, which Peredo confirmed to Correo del Sur, and Radio Panamericana gave the government’s figure as about 1.3% for October.

A July decree, number 5647, caps the monthly change in the average tariff at 5%, and Dávalos said that without it the change would have been 30%. Peredo called the two decrees complementary and said any result above 5% would trigger a period of adjustment instead.

What Economists and Engineers Say

Economist Gonzalo Chávez said monthly rises of 1% to 1.5% look like small fleas, but twelve of them add up to an elephant. He added that if the 5% cap were reached every month, tariffs would rise about 80% in a year.

Energy specialist Fernando Rodríguez called the formulas so complex that they are easy to manipulate, and said the tariff will rise because the dollar went from 6.96 bolivianos to above 11 per US$1. Chávez judged the direction right economically but incomplete socially, since business and commercial users consume most power and need support.

The College of Electrical and Electronic Engineers of Bolivia, led by Franz Suna, projects a rise of 2% to 3%, Radio Panamericana reported. The station put that at Bs 5 to Bs 10 (about US$0.43 to US$0.86) for middle-income homes, and the group asks for the formulas to be published.

The Santa Cruz cooperative CRE ruled out a sharp rise and said its authorised tariff scale runs from 2024 to 2027, El Día reported. Sucre’s utility Cessa said its approved structure holds until November 2027, though it still applies monthly indexation to its base tariff, Correo del Sur reported.

Why the Dollar Rate Matters for Power Bills

Bolivia held the dollar at Bs 6.96 for almost 15 years until the government let it float in late June, El Día noted. The BCB rate of Bs 11.69 per US$1 is about 68% higher than the old fixed rate, by our arithmetic.

Power plants and grids depend on imported equipment priced in dollars, which is why the tariff formula tracks the exchange rate. Chávez said a US$1,000 piece of equipment cost Bs 7,000 under the fixed rate and about Bs 10,000 under the floating one.

Our earlier report on the currency is Bolivia’s Exchange Rate Has Risen 76% Since June. For the IMF fuel deal that left power tariffs untouched, see Bolivia Keeps Petrol Subsidy Until January Review.

The separate electricity bill before the Legislative Assembly is explained in Bolivia Electricity Law Explained, From Auctions to Tariffs. The wider economic picture is in Bolivia in 2026 Explained, From Fuel Crisis to IMF Deal.

What It Means for You

For US investors and companies operating in Bolivia, indexed tariffs mean power bills and costs that move each month with the dollar and inflation. Large power users should plan for a cost line that follows the exchange rate rather than a fixed schedule.

For expats and households, 1.44% on a Bs 100 bill (about US$8.55) is about Bs 1.44 (about US$0.12), and homes using 0 to 70 kWh a month keep a 25% Dignity Tariff discount, Peredo said. The bill depends on both the tariff and consumption, he noted, so using less power lowers it.

For a regional contrast on prices, Peru’s central bank chief says his country has had the lowest inflation in Latin America this century, as covered in Peru Cites Lowest Inflation, Lima at 4.55%. Bolivia’s own price path is in Bolivia Central Bank Keeps 9.2% Inflation Forecast, and living costs for residents are in Cost of Living in Bolivia 2026: A Floated Boliviano and a Dollar Shortage.

Visitors and residents in La Paz will see little change in their power bills in a single month. The effect builds only if adjustments repeat.

What Is Not Known

We could not open the decree text on the official gazette site, so the formulas come from Los Tiempos, Opinión and Correo del Sur. A few outlets print other decree numbers, but the government and most outlets say 5750.

It is unclear whether the 1.44% applies to September or October bills, since officials gave 1.33% to 1.55% for September and about 1.3% for October. The method behind the engineers’ 2% to 3% estimate has not been published.

No official has said how many months the adjustments will continue or how they will interact with the 5% cap. Warnings of larger compounding are the experts’ projections, not regulator figures.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bolivia raising electricity prices?

The regulator expects Bolivian power bills to rise about 1.44% on average after Decree 5750. The government says the decree itself is not a tariff rise but a change in how the dollar is counted.

What is Supreme Decree 5750?

It is a decree promulgated in October 2026 that rewrites the formulas used to update maximum electricity prices and tariffs. It replaces a single-day dollar quote with a monthly average and applies from the date of publication.

How much more will a typical bill cost?

The regulator chief said a Bs 100 bill (about US$8.55 at the BCB rate of Bs 11.69 per US$1) becomes Bs 101.44 (about US$8.68). Engineers project a larger rise of 2% to 3%.

Why does the dollar rate affect electricity tariffs?

About 40% of the tariff structure follows the dollar, the vice minister said, because plants and grids use imported equipment. The other 60% follows consumer prices.

Is there a limit on monthly tariff increases?

A July 2026 decree, number 5647, caps the monthly change in the average tariff at 5%. The vice minister said a result above the cap would trigger a stabilisation period.

Sources: Los Tiempos, 14 October 2026; Los Tiempos, 15 October 2026; Opinión, 14 October 2026; El Día, 15 October 2026; La Patria, 15 October 2026; Red Uno, 14 October 2026; Correo del Sur, 16 October 2026; Correo del Sur, 16 October 2026 (Cessa); Radio Panamericana, 15 October 2026; Brújula Digital, 16 October 2026; El Deber, 14 October 2026; Central Bank of Bolivia official exchange rate, 17 October 2026. Percentages of change in the dollar rate are Rio Times calculations.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief

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