The prices of many basic services went up on January 1st by much more than earnings and many people will find it difficult to reach the end of the month.
The sixth year of the economic crisis has now begun and
it brings with it yet another increase in the price of most basic
services. Neither the salaries of those who still have jobs nor the
average retirement pension have risen by as much and, with spending
power significantly reduced, many people will not find it easy to face
the increases in certain taxes.
Electricity
Electricity has risen by 3 per cent for millions of
domestic customers, although for some - those whose contracted supply is
lower than 3 kilowatts, families where all members are out of work,
pensioners on the lowest income - the price has been frozen.
The
government is also going to penalise increases in consumption by
charging more and has therefore had to eradicate the estimated monthly
meter readings.
There will be further increases during the year, because
the tax of 7 per cent which has to be paid by the suppliers will end up
being passed on to the public.
Fuel
Petrol and diesel will be going up immediately if the oil
companies and petrol stations decide to include in the final prices the
tax on biofuels which form part of the products' composition.
The
exemption from this tax ended on January 1st.
At the pumps, this new tax
could mean an extra charge of between 3 and 5 céntimos per litre.
Telephone
The crisis has caused a flight of customers to virtual
operators and created huge competition among the big companies such as
Telefónica, Vodafone and Orange.
The most expensive monthly charge for
landlines is that of Telefónica, and it has been frozen at 13.974 euros
plus IVA for the past five years. This could go up by the same rate as
the Retail Price Index, not only in 2013 but also every year until 2016.
Postal charges
On 1st January the cost of sending normal letters and
postcards up to 20 grammes in weight went up by 2.7 per cent to 37
céntimos.
Transport
The price of suburban, medium distance and regional rail
sevices is going up by an average of 3 to 3.5 per cent.
The discount on
return tickets will be increased from 10 to 20 per cent on conventional
regional services and those that use the high speed lines.
Companies
which run the inter-urban bus services have been authorised to charge 6
per cent more to compensate for the rise in fuel costs.
Airport taxes
will include a surcharge of 85 céntimos per person, and tolls on
state-run motorways have gone up by an average of 2.4 per cent.
How to make savings
Consumers associations point out that it is still
possible to save money by, for example, writing a list before going
shopping, comparing prices, making note of special offers, buying own
brands and seasonal produce, filling washing machines and dishwashers
completely, limiting central heating and showering instead of taking a
bath.
