Romania, among the countries most affected by the phenomenon of energy poverty, photo: Solarisys13 | Dreamstime.com
Vulnerable consumers of electricity will receive, from July 1, a help in the form of energy cards that will be powered monthly from the state budget. The Ministry of Energy has published an emergency ordinance project that establishes the categories of people who will receive subsidies, but does not specify what will be the value of the aid or how many people will benefit.
From July 1, the electricity market will be liberalized and there will be no capped prices. The government has announced that it will support, through an energy card, only people affected by energy poverty.
Thus, according to the project elaborated by the Ministry of Energy, the following categories of persons and families will benefit in support in the form of the energy ticket:
- single person with a monthly net income of maximum 2574 lei;
- families with a monthly net income/member of maximum 1784 lei;
- a person framed in a serious degree, accentuated or disability environment, whose maximum monthly income took into account is 3641 lei in the case of persons living alone and 2460 lei/member in the case of families;
- Person who, either requires medical equipment fed from the electricity network to maintain life or to maintain the health, or have health problems that prevent or restrict their mobility and/or move or require information and communication adapted to the specific needs, whose maximum monthly income to the case is 3641
- families who have at least 3 children up to 18 years of maintenance, based on a declaration on their own responsibility, whose maximum monthly income considered is 2460 lei/member; The age limit extends up to 26 years if the major child follows a form of education;
- single -parent families, who have at least one child up to 18 years old, based on a declaration on their own responsibility, whose maximum monthly income taken into account is 2460 lei/member; The age limit extends up to 26 years if the major child follows a form of education.
The persons who do not reside in Romania or who do not prove that they live in Romania, as well as the persons who perform deprived sentences or benefit from social services as a public or private structures are exempted from the material support.
The support is granted at the request of the single person or of a major member of the family.
Requests are submitted only online, but consumers receive support from mayors or energy supplier to complete applications
The request can be submitted exclusively on-line in the EPIDS application provided by STS.
The request can be submitted directly by the applicants or through the local public authorities, the representatives of the post offices to which the applicants and/or the electricity suppliers are shown, who will have the obligation to ensure the logistical and qualified personnel support for the applicants to complete the request for the support and the support of the support and the request to the request. The non -granting of the applicants assistance is considered a contravention and sanctioned with a fine.
The support is granted for a single place of consumption, whether the applicant is or is not the holder of the electricity supply contract, and the family members, declared by the applicant, are not found in another place of consumption.
The Ministry of Energy does not mention what will be the amount of the aid and how many people will benefit
According to the Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, the institution he represents proposed that the number of vulnerable consumers should be between 3 and 6 million, which would mean a budget effort between 300 million and one billion euros.
For his part, the Minister of Labor, Simona Bucura, announced two days ago that it is analyzed the granting of 71 lei a month for these consumers. But the final decision will be taken following the discussions with the Ministry of Finance.
