In the last two years, the two largest natural gas companies (Floene and REN) took 44 million euros from the Portuguese from the Subsoil Occupancy Tax (TOS). However, this practice has been prohibited since 2017.
Natural gas companies and the Energy Services Regulatory Entity (ERSE) do not agree on the Subsoil Occupancy Rate. At the end, The people are the ones who pay the invoice.
TOS is a type of rental for the use of underground pipes. There is no clear understanding of who should pay this fee, it is only known who should receive it: Cameras.
The gas companies then decide impute the fee to consumersdespite this practice being prohibited.
As , a law in the State Budget for 2017 decided that the TOS “cannot be reflected in consumers’ invoices”.
However, this is not being respected. Last year, gas companies unduly attributed 25 million euros to the Portuguese.
According to the morning newspaper, the operators understand that it is the Government that has to regulate the collection of the fee and no Executive has yet done so.
As JN says, the previous Government guaranteed that it had left a bill “finalized and prepared” for the current government to present.
The Ministry of the Environment revealed, to the same newspaper, that it is finalizing changes that could “establish maximum charging limits”.
However, nothing was said about the consumer: “The proposed change has already been analyzed by ERSE, and the Government is now incorporating the regulator’s suggestions and contributions,” said the Ministry.
Until then, companies continue to charge unduly; and the ERSE does not prevent.
The undue charge is now in its ninth year. There are customers who have taken distributors to court. The decisions of the Supreme Administrative Court have always been in the sense of prohibit repercussion.
A 2018 study by the Regulatory Entity, cited by JN, concluded that the average weight of the TOS on the invoice was 2.90 euros per month for families and R$8.6 per month for companies.
However, the value varies depending on the municipality. The municipality of Barreiro is the one that charges the most, with the cost reaching 10.64 euros per month for a consumption of 200 kWh – close to the country’s average.
