Cabinet considering energy compensation for millions of families: report
The Cabinet is working on an emergency compensation package to help millions of households with the skyrocketing energy bill. On Sunday, the involved Ministers and coalition party leaders spoke about lowering tariffs for average electricity and gas consumption, sources close to the Cabinet told AD. They’ll continue the talks on Monday.
The Ministers are aiming for a compensation scheme in which households receive a hefty discount for average energy consumption - up to 1,200 cubic meters of gas and 2,500-kilowatt hours of electricity per year, for example. Under that limit, households will pay the rate charged before Russia invaded Ukraine. Anything above that must be settled at the high market rate.
The scheme helps all households while also encouraging people to use energy sparingly. “If you also heat your sauna and your swimming pool, you pay more, “ a source close to the Cabinet said to AD. The Cabinet hopes to implement the scheme this autumn.
On Monday, the Cabinet and coalition party leaders will discuss the details of consumption limits and the price ceiling. They are hopeful that this scheme will succeed, the sources said. “The bottom line is that many people will pay much less for their energy.”
The energy package comes on top of the Cabinet’s plans to boost purchasing power, for which they allocated 16 billion euros next year. This package will cost billions on top of that.
