Power and gas social bonus for economic hardship: who is entitled to
To be entitled to the bonus for economic hardship, it is necessary to belong to:
- a household with an ISEE indicator not exceeding 12000 euros (access value for the period 1 April - 31 December 2022);
- a family unit with at least 4 dependent children (large family) and ISEE indicator not exceeding 20,000 euros;
- a family unit with "Reddito di Cittadinanza" or "Pensione di Cittadinanza".
The power social bonus is provided both to customers who have subscribed to a offered on the free energy market and to those served in greater protection. It will also be automatically recognized in the event of a change of supplier.
The same applies to the gas social bonus, to access which, however, you must be connected to the city gas network, because the benefit cannot be recognized if you use natural gas or LPG in the cylinder.
How to get the power and gas social bonus for economic hardship
From 1 January 2021, as required by the decree law 26 October 2019 n. 124, converted with amendments by law 19 December 2019, n. 157 who is entitled to the power and gas bonus for economic hardship will no longer have to submit a specific application to the Municipalities or CAF: it will be sufficient to submit every year only the Single Substitute Declaration (DSU), for example through the Municipality, the CAF or the INPS site, in order to obtain the ISEE certificate.
The Single Substitute Declaration presented to access the subsidized social benefits (school canteen, maternity allowance, baby bonus, etc.), will also allow automatic access to the social bonus for economic hardship, if the conditions are met.
In the presence of the income requirements, INPS will send the data of the family unit to Integrated Information System (SII *).
The SII plays a central role:
- it acquires the information from INPS, identifies the supplies to be facilitated and communicates it to sellers and distributors of power and gas, indicating the period of validity of the facility.
* Integrated Information System (SII) managed by the Single Buyer company. The SII is a computer database that contains information useful for identifying power and gas supplies.
The mode of delivery of the bonus is operational according to timing provided for by ARERA resolution no.63/21 from the second half of 2021 with accruing on the bill.
Each family unit is entitled, for the relevant year, to only one bonus per type (power, gas, water).
Power social bonus for physical hardship
The social bonus for physical hardship is recognized, in the event of serious health conditions, for the use of electro-medical equipment that involves a high power consumption. The subsidy is not linked to the ISEE, but the amount depends on the annual consumption of the life-saving machinery used. Potential beneficiaries must continue to apply for it to the Municipalities of residence or the entities designated by them, such as authorized CAF, as in the past.
With Resolution 257/21, the Authority updated and supplemented the table showing the amount of compensation for new recipients of the physical hardship bonus with effect from 1 August 2021.