Pampa Energía - Q2 2024
August 8, 2024
Transcript
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Good morning, everyone. Thank you for waiting. I'm Raquel Caldas from IR, and we would like to welcome everyone to Pampa Energía's second quarter 2024 results video conference. We would like to inform you that this event is being recorded. All participants will be in listen-only mode during the presentation. After the company's remarks, there will be a Q&A session. Questions can only be submitted in writing through Zoom. Should any participant need assistance, please send us a chat message. Before proceeding, please read the disclaimer on the second page of our presentation.
Let me mention that forward-looking statements are based on Pampa Energía's management beliefs and assumptions and information currently available to the company. They involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions because they are related to future events that may or may not occur.Investors should understand that general economic and industry conditions and other operating factors could also affect the future results of Pampa Energía, and could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Now, I'll turn the video conference over to Lida. Please go ahead.
Lida Wang (Investor Relations & Sustainability Officer)
Hi. Thank you, Raquel. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining our conference call. I will make a quick summary of the Q2. You may find more details in our earnings release and financial statements. Today, we are having a Q&A with our CFO, Mr. Nicolas Mindlin. Mr. Horacio Turri, our Head of E&P, is here, and Adolfo Zuberbuhler, our Head of Finance, is also here. Unfortunately, our CEO, Gustavo Mariani, can't join us today because he is in Vaca Muerta, hosting our President-elect. The gas production is what definitely stands out the quarter's figures.
Again, we've beaten all company records, delivering a 37% increase year-on-year in Q2, and recording a new daily record, record high of 16.8 million cubic meters per day. The output search is explained by the latest plant gas contract we've been awarded, enabled by the new pipeline built last year. It also helped the early winter freeze, driving retail and thermal power generation. The production increase is backed by shale gas, harvesting the campaign we began last year. Shale gas now represents almost half of our total output this quarter, a significant increase compared to last year's 23%.
Therefore, this quarter, the adjusted EBITDA amounted to $288 million, an increase of 30% compared to last year's figure, mainly because of the gas outperformance and TGS contribution, which surged by the 675% tariff hike granted in April. Lower gas exports, sales to industries, and thermal dispatch partially offset this effect. The quarter-on-quarter increase is explained by the seasonality and CAMMESA's haircut recorded in Q1 and last year, Q4. It is worth noting that almost 80% of the quarter's EBITDA was dollar-linked, and the share now is led by E&P, which is mainly due to the gas production.
CapEx in Q2 is 28% lower year-on-year, mainly because in Q3 in 2023, we had a strong shale gas drilling and completion campaign and the construction of PEPE IV. This was partially offset by the last investments of PEPE VI, which is estimated to be fully commissioned by October this year, and the beginning of the pilot plan for shale oil in Rincón de Aranda. Moving on to the power generation segment. As seen on slide 45, sorry. We posted an adjusted EBITDA of $106 million in Q2. This is 9% higher year-on-year, mainly explained by lower operating costs, the full commissioning of PEPE IV in June last year, and the strong spot sales in Genelba.
Partially offset by reduced Energía Plus sales, which is in line with the decline in the industrial activity, in addition to Mario Cebreiro's divestment last year. Q2 dispatch increased 3% year-on-year. This is mainly due to the lower gas availability for thermal dispatch that mainly affected our CCGTs. Partially offset by a better dispatch in the old CCGT in Genelba, which in Q2 last year, had more days out of service for maintenance, higher water levels at Mendoza Hydros, and PEPE IV's contribution. The capacity payment, especially from PPAs, explains most of the EBITDA. It is driven by availability, and in Q2, we reached 98% availability.
This is higher than last year's 95%, mainly due to the previous year's thermal outages that we mentioned. So now turning... Let me give you a quick brief on PEPE VI, the expansion. The project, it's highly advanced, 94%. Between July and August, 10 Vestas wind turbines were commissioned by CAMMESA, totaling 45 MW. We are testing to commission another 4. The 500 kV high voltage grid and transformer station have been fully energized, as well as three wind turbine circuits. The estimated full COD will be in October, and PEPE VI, PEPE VI energy will be sold under B2B PPAs in the MATER.
Going on, on slide 8, our E&P business posted an adjusted EBITDA of $121 million in Q2. This is 24% higher year-on-year. This increase was driven by Plan Gas's latest round, unlocked by the commissioning of the new gas pipeline, in which we were awarded a long-term contract for 4.8 million cubic meters per day, flat through the year. Weather, the early freeze also helped lower gas exports and sales to the industries offset this. In Q2, our total production averaged almost 91,000 barrels per day. This is 35% higher than last year. When we zoom in, crude oil just represented 6% of our E&P output and 50% of the segment's revenue.
Total gas just keeps taking the lead, representing 94% of our total production. Higher maintenance and operating costs due to the increased activity explain that our total lifting costs grew by 11% year-on-year. Still, the rising output possibly impact the lifting costs per BOE, which decreased 17% year-on-year, recording $5.3 per BOE and monetizing the economies of scale. Quickly commenting on gas, our production in Q2 increased by 37% year-on-year and 24% quarter-on-quarter. This is averaging almost 15 million units per day in the quarter. As commented before, shale gas is the main contributor here, and 63% of the quarter's production came from El Mangrullo and 23% from Sierra Chata, our flagship shale gas fields.
Sierra Chata production grew 50% year-on-year without connecting or drilling a well this quarter, while El Mangrullo experienced 45% surge with only three wells tied in. The average gas price over the quarter stood at $4 per million BTU. This is 14% down due to the lower exports to Chile. As you can see right below, the higher deliveries of local gas were destined for thermal power generation. This is a quick review on Rincón de Aranda, sharing the promising results. Horacio surely will comment more on the Q&A. As you can see here, our wells' performance is within the range in the our neighboring shale oil blocks, and our daily production reached above 1,600 barrels per day once we connected the shut-in well in June.
We have already placed a drilling rig in the block to start drilling a pad of 4 wells, plus another pad next year, aiming to produce by mid-next year and reaching a plateau production between 40 to 45 thousand barrels per day by 2027. The petrochemical business, moving on to another business, posted $50 million EBITDA in Q2. This is 50% growth year-on-year, mainly because of the higher sales of reforming and improved exports of SBR margins, offset by the domestic sales due to the economic downturn. Hence, the export share is getting more and more important.
Moving on to slide 12. Moving on to slide 12, we show the restricted group figures that reflect the bond parameter. In Q2, we recorded a free cash flow of $60 million. Our working capital had recovered since came into effect last quarter. As of today, days of sales outstanding is 55 days total. This is, this means a delay of only 13 days. The payment normalization allow us to cancel debt, so the net, net debt is significantly below last quarter, as you can see here. In summary, we increased $69 million of net cash in the quarter, achieving a $914 million cash position by the end of the period.
Well, this slide shows our consolidated financial position, including our affiliates of ownership, but let's keep it focusing on restricted group figures. We posted a gross debt of $1.6 billion. This is 3% lower year-on-year and a 5% growth in cash. After settling ARS debts and depreciations on the peso, 92% of the gross debt is in US dollars. The net debt recorded $691 million. This is 12% year-on-year lower, and 1x last twelve months EBITDA net leverage. And the average life was 2.6 years, and until 2027, we just don't face any relevant debt maturity. So this concludes our presentation. Now, I will turn the word to Raquel, who will poll for the questions. Thank you very much.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you very much, Lida. So, the floor is now open for questions. If you have any questions, please send us through Zoom chat. We will read and answer them in order received. Also, please make sure your name and company are correctly displayed to introduce you to the audience. Should any participant need assistance, send us a chat message or raise your hand. Please hold while we poll for questions. Thank you very much for waiting. Our first question comes from Alejandra Andrade, from JP Morgan. First one is this: How are CAMMESA payments? She wants to know how are CAMMESA payments nowadays.
Nicolás Mindlin (EVP)
Hello. Hello, everybody. Leah... Okay, so CAMMESA is paying quite well. As of today, we are not experiencing any delay, which is in line with historical minimums, as Leah showed in the presentation. On the other hand, Enarsa has been paying with a delay of almost a month, but we understand that this should normalize in the coming month. And in any case, we are seeing good will and reasonable delays in line with the historical minimums that we have seen.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Nico. In line with this, she also asks, "The $23 million impairments are unrecognized CAMMESA interests?
Nicolás Mindlin (EVP)
Yes. So as we communicated at the time, we have accepted CAMMESA's proposal to settle transactions for December and January with the AE38 bonds. So this proposal did not recognize accruing interest. So considering the bond market prices at the time of the payment, we recognized a loss of $53 million, of which $23 million were unrecognized interest.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Nico. The third question of Alejandra, she asks: How are the infrastructure projects progressing?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
Good morning, everybody. Well, we have two main lines of infrastructure, the gas pipelines and the oil pipelines. In terms of, let's go first to the gas pipelines. We are probably going to see the end of the reversion of the NOA pipeline by September or October of this year. So this will provide gas to the north of Argentina and reduce considerably the imports from Bolivia. On the other hand, TGS has already presented Iniciativa Privada to the government in order to expand the transportation capacity of the existing Néstor Kirchner pipeline, with the addition of compression in the first tranche and some works in the TGS infrastructure.
That would boost the capacity transportation or the transportation capacity to approximately 14 million cubic meters per day of additional gas. This is currently being already presented to the government, and it's being analyzed. It's a very important infrastructure project to be take into account. In terms of oil, we will have, by March, April of next year, the Duplicar project of Oldelval already commissioned. That will give additional 300,000 barrels per day of transportation capacity. We will also have the tranche one of the Vaca Muerta Sur project from YPF, going from Loma Campana to Allen.
So call this the collector of the main pipeline that is also in project in work in progress now in the engineering phase, which is the connection of Allen to Punta Colorada. That will be commissioned by the first tranche by September of 2026, with approximately 180,000 barrels per day, and an additional 180,000 in September 2026, and an additional 180,000 barrels per day by September of 2027. Currently, they're analyzing the possibility of an additional 20,000 cubic meters more or 120,000 barrels more by September 2027. This basically resumes the new infrastructure projects that are currently in progress in Argentina.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Horacio. Last question from Alejandra. She asked if we have expectations of returning to international market?
Nicolás Mindlin (EVP)
Okay, so this is a good question. So we know there is currently an interesting window in the market for Argentine corporate. And as you know, our financial position is quite solid, and our next significant maturity is in January 2027. This is a $750 million bond with a 7.5% coupon, which is below the yields of Pampa's bonds right now, and comparable to recent issuance from companies, for example, TGS. And on the other hand, our cash position of nearly $1 billion allows us to comfortably meet our debt maturities and growth plans, such as Rincón de Aranda, in the coming years.
So for this reason, we are not in a hurry to undertake a liability management at the moment and to tap the markets, but we will closely monitor market conditions and do not rule out doing something early, if the conditions are favorable or, for example, if there is an M&A opportunity in the market.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Nico. The next question comes from Alejandro Demichelis, from Jefferies. He asked: What participation can we expect from Pampa in the recently announced LNG export project?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
Okay. We definitely will have a very active participation in the LNG export project. We are still in the process of analyzing the project and our participation, but it's definitely the way out to our massive gas resources in Vaca Muerta.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Horacio. Next questions come from Marina Martens, from Latin Securities. First one says: "Rincón de Aranda has delivered promising, promising results. How do you anticipate crude oil production will develop in 2024 and 2025, given the planned midstream expansions? And what additional evacuation capacity will be needed to meet your 2027 production targets?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
Okay. 2024, we don't foresee any increase in our production in Rincón de Aranda. Basically, 2 wells that are already being hooked into the production lines. By 2025, as Lida mentioned before, we will be probably drilling and completing 2 pads, and that will give us the possibility of boosting our production to around 10,000 to 12,000 barrels per day. And that matches as well our transportation capacity from Del Valle and the possibility of acquiring additional capacity from companies that will have idle transportation capacity in the Duplicar project.
By 2027, we foresee, as I mentioned before, that the Vaca Muerta Sur tramo dos of YPF will be finished, and we have an overall capacity contracted of approximately 48,000 barrels. Hopefully, by the end of 2027, at least our aim is to be in the range of 45,000 to 48,000 barrels per day.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Horacio. Next question from Marina, says: "Considering the increase in natural gas production, is it realistic to expect that it could remain stable through the summer when local demand declines?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
Well, Argentina is a seasonal market with a strong component of domestic demand. So, I don't think it's realistic to think that the demand will be constant during the off-peak or the non-winter season.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Horacio. Next questions come from Bruno Montanari, from Morgan Stanley. First one says: "How is natural gas demand performing into third quarter of 2024? Can we expect higher volumes versus this quarter?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
Okay, well, so far, we only have one month of the third quarter, which is July. In July last year, we delivered around 10.8 million cubic meters per day compared to 15.3 this year, so we are 42% up July 2024, 2023. And August is just starting, so it's hard to say what's going to happen because it's very much variable, depending on the - particularly on the, on the weather.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Horacio. Next question from Bruno, says, "What is the potential maximum volume of natural gas production once, Gasoducto Néstor Kirchner, the second tranche, is delivered? And how much would Pampa need to do to achieve that production?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
Okay. We were awarded, in the last round of the Plan Gas, with the 4.8 million cubic meters per day, on a flat basis. So the commissioning of the compression plants do not change our participation in Plan Gas. So we already reached our demand on Plan Gas basis. So we don't see an additional production due to the. And I understand that you are asking about the commissioning of the two compression plants. So we don't see an additional capacity affecting Pampa's demand on Plan Gas. So what, that was the first question, and the other one?
In order to keep the production levels that we have, both Plan Gas and exports plus industries, we foresee approximately 4 to 6 wells being drilled per year in order to just keep the constant production rates. So that would amount to approximately $100 million per year, with no increase in our production curve, just keeping our curve as it is.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Horacio. The last question from Bruno says: Can you talk about the evolution of the project to develop the company's shale oil acreage? Is the company on track to deliver the plan for 40,000 barrels per day plateau by 2027? What are the infrastructure bottlenecks and investments required to reach the production plateau?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
Okay. Well, I already mentioned that we are currently drilling our second pad in Rincón de Aranda, and we will be drilling two pads, additional, additional pads in 2025. The bottlenecks basically have to do with treatment and transportation. In terms of treatment, we are already starting the construction of the necessary evacuation pipelines and pipelines in terms of oil pipelines and gas pipelines and temporary production facilities, both owned by Pampa and eventually being negotiated with neighbors in order to be able to deliver those 10 to 12,000 barrels per day, I mentioned before, by 2025.
Also, we are currently finishing the engineering of our central processing facility, that will have four blocks. Basically, the oil plant, the gas treatment plant, the water disposal plant, and the generation plant, that will be ready by May 2026, for the first tranche of 3,500 cubic meters per day. And by September, October 2026, the second tranche of an additional 3,500, totaling 7,000 cubic meters per day or 42,000 barrels per day. So, in parallel with our evacuation and treatment from the Rincón de Aranda itself, we are currently negotiating with YPF our participation in the Vaca Muerta Sur Tramo 2, connecting Allen to Punta Colorada, for again, I mentioned before, 48,000 barrels per day.
We already have contracted with YPF the transportation from Loma Campana to Allen through the contract, the contract of the Vaca Muerta Sur Tramo 1.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Horacio. Next questions come from Anne Milne, from Bank of America. First one, she says: Can you give us an update on the construction of various infrastructure needed to grow Argentina and Pampa's oil and gas business in Argentina? If there are any delays, how do you think they will be?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
I think we already covered this.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Okay. Next one says: Is Pampa looking at any other non-conventional oil areas at the moment?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
We are always looking at new opportunities.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Okay. The last one says: Where do you see Pampa's hydrocarbon production five years from now, in terms of volumes and breakdown between natural gas and crude oil?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
Okay. In terms of of oil, we already mentioned that our aim is to reach a plateau of around 45,000 to 50,000 barrels per day, and that's what we probably gonna be keeping as our goal. Eventually, we are looking at new opportunities, but what we have today in the pipeline is that.... And in terms of natural gas, until 2028, we have the Plan Gas, which are current, basically the current volumes that we are delivering into the market. We still have to see what happens with the expansion of the gas pipelines. As I mentioned before, that represents around 14 million cubic meters per day.
I guess that probably we will keep around 20% to 30% out of that market share. So we are talking 3 to 4 additional million cubic meters per day of natural gas during the winter season. That's approximately 100 to 120 days. So basically, those are the main drivers of our future production. Not to mention the possibility of the development of the LNG projects that we mentioned before.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Horacio. Next question come from Gustavo Faria, from Bank of America. First one, she, he says, "How do you see the demand for gas export in the second half of this year? And could you give a little disclosure on the export prices in the second half of 2024?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
Okay. For the second half of 2024, we have committed 600,000 cubic meters per day to Chile through GasAndes. The minimum price and the price at the same time, that was approved by the Secretary of Energy, is 7% of Brent, which turns out to be around $5.5 per million BTU wellhead.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Horacio. Next question from Gustavo. He says, "We saw an important drop in the lifting cost in the second quarter of 2024. Do you see any room for additional lifting cost improvement in the gas upstream segment, or do you consider the current level as the plateau?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
No, we consider that what we reached, this is probably the plateau. We won't be seeing any substantial decrease in the future.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Horacio. Next question come from Ignacio Sniechowski, from Invertir en Bolsa. First one, he says, "Regarding, future increases in regulated prices, do you have any estimation of when these hikes will finally translate into effectively higher income for the company, rather than merely substituting subsidies?
Lida Wang (Investor Relations & Sustainability Officer)
It's a good question. So less subsidies means less dependence on CAMMESA delays, and it's more reliance on the demand. Basically, the higher hikes on the electricity, the famous electricity raw price in the final bills, that means lesser subsidies. That means lesser subsidies for CAMMESA, and then CAMMESA can pay us faster, for example. It's not gonna be materially, we getting more money, we as a company, getting more money, but that meaning we getting a better quality on the collections, on the payment side, on the receivables.
This is mainly the biggest importance here, behind the lowering of subsidies. Another thing that is very important, is that the other regulated prices, the gas price, and the final bills. The higher the gas prices for retail, the lower the subsidies it is, so we collect less Plan Gas compensation. But again, we collect it for the distribution. So, I mean, it's getting a better credit profile and a lesser dependence on the government's disbursements. Just to note this, actually, they passed last June the regulated prices until the end of this year for electricity and for gas.
They already put an outlook for what's gonna be the subsidies until the end of the year as well, for what kind of subsidies will be for those that are under retail social tariff for middle income, as well as the government just passed just a few days ago the monthly increment or monthly increase for inflation, 6% for transmission for Transener, 4% for TGS, and 3% for legacy prices, legacy energy that we have.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Lid. Next question from Ignacio is about gas production volumes going forward. Do you see these levels of production being sustained in the forthcoming quarters, or was this peak due to an exceptionally cooler quarter?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
We're... I think we covered that.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Okay. So the final question is: Are there any M&A opportunities being considered, or all the cash will be devoted to CapEx, in order to accelerate and ramp up Rincón de Aranda?
Nicolás Mindlin (EVP)
Okay. So we know that our financial position and level of indebtedness allow us to grow inorganically, and we have been analyzing all the opportunities that have been in the market recently, particularly in our core segments, including unconventional areas... But unfortunately, no attractive opportunities in terms of price have appeared yet. So currently, developing our best gas fields, such as El Mangrullo and Sierra Chata, and now Rincón de Aranda in oil, along with all the necessary infrastructure, is much more profitable for Pampa than paying a high entry price for new assets.
So as always, we remain open to potential opportunities that may appear in the market, and are always evaluating what is best for the company, but we haven't found anything interesting so far.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Nico. Next question comes from Fernando Pedron. He asked: Have you discussed alternatives with the government regarding the canceled Genelba III greenfield and Barragán expansion projects?
Lida Wang (Investor Relations & Sustainability Officer)
So as Nico would do it here, we have presented two projects. The big one, the 300 MW, of course, it's not gonna pursue because this was canceled. But the other one, actually, we did pursue, present, we won it. Well, the third one auction is canceled, but we're doing it anyways. This is a way to improve the efficiency even further, the efficiency of the plant, and we are doing this very small CapEx, it's $50 million. We're increasing 111 MW, so we are doing it.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Oli. Next question come from Walter Chiarvesio from Santander. First one says, "Can you please update on Rincón de Aranda total drilling and production curve, evacuation capacity, et cetera?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
I think we already covered this.
Lida Wang (Investor Relations & Sustainability Officer)
Yes. Okay.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Next one: Any update on potential energy price regimes to be introduced by the regulator?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
Yeah, we covered that.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Okay. Next question comes from Florencia Mayorga, from MetLife. She says, "The deterioration-
Lida Wang (Investor Relations & Sustainability Officer)
She told me that. It's okay.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Okay.
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
Pedro Letelier.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
So next question comes from Pedro Letelier. He wants to know, do you have some color related to export in terms of restrictions? Can you sell that you want abroad, all that you want abroad? Sorry.
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
We are talking about oil, gas, or electricity, but I'm not sure about... If it is oil, there's no restriction whatsoever, and in terms of gas, it's the same thing. We are restricted by the transportation capacity, but there's no regulatory restriction under the new Ley de Bases in order to export. It's a free market.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Horacio.
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
No problem.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Now, yes, from Florencia Mayorga from MetLife, regarding hydros, we are recognizing a provision of termination of Mendoza hydros, which was the value. Any update or next steps?
Lida Wang (Investor Relations & Sustainability Officer)
Yes, we've been making provisions, if you can see quarter-over-quarter, in light of this, this very close expiration. The only update we have is that we've been granted a 12-month extension. So, there's two... This is complicated because there's two concessions in the, the, this hydro. That is, one is the provincial and one is the national one. The provincial one has been granted for twelve, for 12 months, but the state, the national one, is only for 6 months, extendable for another 6 months. So in light of this, it looks like it's gonna, in Los Nihuiles will be expiring if there's no extension provided, granted, on November of this year. We'll see. It's... That's, that's how it is.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Oli. Next question come from Ludovic Cacos. First one says: According to the press, some companies have signed export contracts of natural gas to Brazil. With the reversion of Gasoducto Norte, Pampa export gas to Brazil, too?
Horacio Turri (Executive Director of Oil & Gas)
Yes, we could export gas to Brazil, absolutely. And we can also export gas to the north of Chile, which is a market that will compete with Brazil. But definitely, we can do that.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you. Next question from Jorge Luis Mauro: After the recent increase in gas prices and electricity prices, how much of the cost is paid by end users for gas and electricity?
Lida Wang (Investor Relations & Sustainability Officer)
For electricity, the other day, I got the number. It's the cost was $91, the average cost of the grid, and the coverage was 61. So it's pretty much the coverage was 61%, so it's pretty high. Last year, the coverage was 20%, so it's increasing. Still, the government has to cover the other 40%, right? For example, for users, retail users that are non-subsidized, such as me, I'm not subsidized at all. I am paying my bill $72 per MWh. Of course, again, against the real cost, $91, still subsidized, but I've been hiked from $20 last year, so it's been increasing hike.
Then in gas, I don't remember the coverage, because winter, it's the prices go up very much because of the liquids. It's difficult to assess, but for example, fully non-subsidized people like such as me, I'm paying $3.3 per million BTU. Last year, I was paying $1.5 per million BTU, so it's been increased. And low-income people are paying instead of cents, thirty cents, twenty cents, now they're paying $1.8. But just for a block. If they're they consume more than that, if they excess in consumption, they have to pay the full fare. That's $3.3. So the idea is to lift it up, the prices, little by little.
In the case of the people that can afford it, such as myself, it's the full fare, but it's still a little bit lower than real cost, but very close, as you can see.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
Thank you, Lía. Mm-hmm. José, do we have more questions?
Lida Wang (Investor Relations & Sustainability Officer)
So next question comes from Ludovic Cacos, too. You have just announced a share buyback program. Would you consider to return more cash to shareholders?
Nicolás Mindlin (EVP)
So we just announced the program, and you're already asking for more? Now, in the last five years, less than five years, we have repurchased almost $600 million of shares at an average price of $22 per ADR. And now we are announcing a new program, so that's all for now. We are not considering anything more.
Raquel Caldas (Investor Relations)
We, we don't have any more questions.
Lida Wang (Investor Relations & Sustainability Officer)
I think I don't see more questions. If you have any questions about the financial statements or anything, you can just read it. We just uploaded in our website the earnings. We have all the backup information there. I think we had hit the top of the hour. We appreciate very much you joining us on this call. Appreciate Horacio, Adolfo, and Nico for joining us for the Q&A. Any questions you may have, please send us an email. We will be more than happy to help you. I hope I wish you a good day.
Nicolás Mindlin (EVP)
Thank you very much. Have a nice day.