Havana: Cuba today rectifies important aspects of the monetary system, which will come into force on January 1, with adherence and respect to criteria issued by the population on this process that will boost the economy, Prensa Latina publishes.
As announced on the first day of 2021, the Cuban convertible peso (CUC) will cease to circulate and the Cuban peso (CUP) will be maintained, which will have an exchange rate of one for 24 dollars for both natural and legal persons.
In addition, the current exchange rates will be unified, and a general reform of wages and prices will be applied, with the gradual elimination of excessive subsidies and undue gratuities.
Based on these general decisions, new prices for important products and services such as energy consumption were issued, which at first would be higher, but after listening to the criteria of the population, the government decided to readjust the values.
In this regard, Marino Murillo, head of the Commission for the Implementation of the Guidelines of the Communist Party of Cuba, explained the decision to reduce the electricity rates previously approved, as well as the retail price of liquefied petroleum gas, due to the link between both in the cooking food.
These are – he pointed out – practical issues of the economy that require evaluating how far one can go, what the economy supports, taking into account the global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the tightening of the United States blockade.
He specified that with the decision adopted, 97.8 percent of Cuban households will be favored with the reduction of the electricity tariff, which will come into effect on January 1 as part of the monetary order in the country.
Thus, those who consume less than 500 kilowatts (97.8 percent) will keep the energy subsidized and it will be more expensive for those who spend above that amount, the official said.
Murillo emphasized his call to save, because if consumption shoots up the decision could cost five billion pesos more than expected for subsidies in 2021.
To meet the expenses, he said that, in addition to savings, greater cost efficiency of Unión Eléctrica, the company in charge of supplying energy on the island, will be essential.
For his part, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Liván Arronte, explained how the energy matrix of the Antillean nation is composed, where 95 percent of electricity comes from fossil fuels, although they work to increase the use of renewable sources, but He stressed that 48 percent of the raw materials used are imported.