Chile's National Energy Commission (CNE) has corrected its criterion on what goes into the tariff debt that electricity customers will pay on their bills from 2028. On October 26, 2026, the CNE ruled that transfer imbalances between distribution companies under the Residential Tariff Equity (ETR) mechanism should not be included in the Tariff Normalization Balance (Saldo NT) and must be settled through a separate procedure, REDIMIN reported.
With this, the CNE partially revised what it said in official letter No. 918 of September 25, 2026, in response to a query from the Superintendency of Electricity and Fuels (SEC). At the time it had held that ETR differences between 2020 and 2024 had to be added to the reliquidations and, therefore, to the debt.
The change is not an immediate cut in power bills. Nor has it been reported how much the Saldo NT will fall compared with September's calculations. What it does is narrow down what is charged to customers and what remains a matter between companies.
What the Saldo NT is and how much it adds up to
The tariff debt stems from the electricity tariff freeze that began in late 2019. During those years, distribution companies charged less than they were owed for their Distribution Added Value (VAD), the payment for the networks that carry electricity to homes. Those differences are calculated in reliquidations, and Law 21,833, published on July 31, 2026, grouped them into the so-called Saldo NT.
According to the financial report of the Budget Office (Dipres) on the bill that became the law, dated June 22, 2026, the Saldo NT owed amounts to approximately 816 billion Chilean pesos. It includes the VAD for the 2020-2024 four-year period and the generation and transmission component of medium-sized systems for 2022-2026.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Law creating the Saldo NT | Law 21,833 (Official Gazette, July 31, 2026) |
| Estimated debt | About 816 billion pesos (Dipres, June 2026) |
| How it is paid | NT component of the MPC Charge: 5 pesos per kWh, adjusted for inflation every six months |
| From | January 1, 2028 |
| Until | The balance is paid off, no later than the last business day of 2035 |
| Who calculates the amount per company | The SEC |
| Who issues the payment documents | The General Treasury, on instruction from the Finance Ministry |
Sources: Law 21,833, Dipres financial report I.F. No. 135/2026 and REDIMIN. According to Dipres, the measure involves no additional fiscal spending, because the debt is paid with what power bills collect and the payment documents carry no state guarantee.
What changed in the tariff debt with the CNE's decision
Residential Tariff Equity is a mechanism that spreads distribution costs so that bills in the most expensive areas do not stray too far above the national average. To achieve this, some distributors transfer money to others. When the calculation factors change, those transfers leave balances in favor of some companies and against others.
In September, the CNE had said those differences "do not constitute an independent balance that can be excluded from the process", according to REDIMIN's September 29 report. It now distinguishes two things: adjustments affecting regulated customers stay within the reliquidations under article 192 of the General Electric Services Law; imbalances between distributors, governed by article 191, are not added automatically.
| Issue | September criterion (letter No. 918) | October criterion (October 26) |
|---|---|---|
| ETR differences 2020-2024 | Added to the art. 192 reliquidation | Only adjustments for regulated customers |
| Transfers between distributors (art. 191) | Inside the Saldo NT | Outside the Saldo NT, separate procedure |
| Effect on the size of the debt | Larger | Not reported |
| Who applies the criterion | SEC | SEC, at the CNE's request |
Source: REDIMIN, September 29 and October 28, 2026, based on the CNE's rulings. The CNE asked the SEC, headed by superintendent Marta Cabeza, to apply the new criterion when it sets the amounts and the Saldo NT.
The figures households see on their bills today do not change with this decision. To see how much each municipality pays per kilowatt-hour, check our table of the price of a kWh in Chile by distribution company.
How much the tariff debt will weigh on power bills
The NT component is a fixed energy charge: 5 pesos for every kWh consumed, plus inflation adjustment from July 2026. For a household using 200 kWh a month, that is about 1,000 pesos a month at today's values; for one using 350 kWh, about 1,750 pesos. These are Energía Futura calculations, excluding VAT and adjustments, and the law allows the CNE to adjust the value if needed.
| Monthly household consumption | NT charge per month (calculation, at 5 pesos/kWh) | NT charge per year |
|---|---|---|
| 100 kWh | 500 pesos | 6,000 pesos |
| 200 kWh | 1,000 pesos | 12,000 pesos |
| 350 kWh | 1,750 pesos | 21,000 pesos |
| 500 kWh | 2,500 pesos | 30,000 pesos |
Energía Futura calculation using the value in Law 21,833, excluding VAT and inflation adjustment. To estimate your own home's consumption, see how much electricity a home in Chile uses per month.
The charge will be added to an already busy tariff calendar. In its preliminary node price report, the CNE projected that power bills would fall 4.3% from January 2027, although with increases in Los Ríos, Los Lagos and Magallanes. The NT component will start a year later, in 2028.
What remains pending
The SEC must now set how much is owed to each distributor under the corrected criterion. Earlier, in February 2026, the superintendency had issued Exempt Resolution No. 37,613 for consumption between November 2020 and May 2024, whose application was postponed to July 2026, according to REDIMIN. Under Law 21,833, those amounts move into the Saldo NT and the Treasury will issue transferable payment documents to the companies.
Three questions remain open: the size of the historical imbalances between distributors, how they will be split among them and how much the final Saldo NT will change from the estimate of 816 billion pesos. None of these figures had been published by the CNE or the SEC as of October 28.
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See advertising optionsFrequently asked questions about Chile's electricity tariff debt
What did the CNE decide on October 26?
That transfer imbalances between distributors under the Residential Tariff Equity mechanism should not be included in the Tariff Normalization Balance and should be resolved separately, correcting its September criterion.
Will my power bill go down because of this decision?
Not immediately. The decision narrows what goes into the debt to be charged from 2028, but how much the total changes has not been reported.
How large is the tariff debt?
Dipres estimated it at about 816 billion pesos in June 2026. The final amount will be set by the SEC.
How much will be charged on bills and from when?
5 pesos per kWh, adjusted for inflation, from January 1, 2028, and no later than the last business day of 2035.
What is Residential Tariff Equity?
A mechanism that brings bills in areas with more expensive distribution closer to the national average, through transfers between distribution companies.
