The energy crisis has led to a rapid increase in the number of families receiving assistance to pay utility bills and other energy sources. Number of houses receiving energy support since the energy earthquake that occurred in mid-2021 social bonus -electricity bill discount program for vulnerable families-1.6 million beneficiaries ozarAccording to the latest official government data.
By the end of 2023, more than 1.599 million households in Spain were benefiting from this assistance to reduce the electricity bill of vulnerable and seriously ill people. Those who have received bonuses since the beginning of the energy crisis Almost 38% growth, with 438,000 more families added since May 2021 According to a combined analysis of statistics from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the National Markets Commission and Competition (CNMC) (just before the first emergency measures adopted by the Government in June of that year to mitigate the rise in energy prices).
Months of historic price increases, worsened by the start of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, have resulted in a direct blow to Spanish homes, with vulnerable families the main victims. Even though the markets have returned to normal, prices remain high compared to the historical average and the number of people benefiting from social bonuses continues to increase. More than 90,000 new families in the second half of 2023 alone They asked for help and they got it.
Enhanced assistance
HE electric social bonus It allows discounts of between 25% and 40% on electricity bills depending on the degree of vulnerability (vulnerable, seriously vulnerable or at risk of social exclusion), but as part of anti-crisis measures the Government temporarily increased the discounts to up to 65% and the vast majority of beneficiaries for 80% of the bill. The government decided to extend the extraordinary increase in aid until at least June 30.
The electricity voucher also provides access to all beneficiaries. thermal social bonusA voucher helps pay part of the costs of gas, water and heating in a single payment of between 40 and 375 euros per year, depending on the climate zone in which the beneficiaries live and the degree of sensitivity.
The cost of the social electricity bonus (currently around 800 million euros per year) is distributed among all operators in the electricity sector according to their market share, but they then pass this on to their customers. The total amount of benefits provided by the thermal social bonus (approximately 260 million) is covered by the general budget of the State.
big families
Almost three-quarters of the 1.59 million beneficiaries at the end of 2023 are beneficiaries due to criteria directly related to the level of household income: 1.06 million are considered vulnerable or severely vulnerable households, more than 101,000 are pensioners with minimum pensions and 14,200 are vulnerable. or is considered a severely vulnerable household. Those who benefit from the minimum living income. One in four people who receive a social bonus do so because they have a large family (those with three or more children); This does not take into account any criteria linked to household income in most cases. More than 380,500 extended families received benefits as of the end of December 2023, according to Government data, which does not break down different types of recipients within this group.
Last March the Government announced its intention to approve a reform of the conditions for large families to benefit from special discounts on electricity bills, with the aim of starting to impose family income ceilings for accessing the benefit (large families currently receive these benefits regardless). income) and prevent some households from accessing services they do not really need.
The government then emphasized its intention to set in motion the process of changing the social bonus “as soon as possible”, but weeks later it began to backtrack and cooled the possibility of a rapid reform, setting itself the task of reaching a consensus with large-scale associations. Families before implementation. Early elections in 23J – more than four months after the announcement – and the subsequent political pause until the formation of the new Government made it difficult for the process to continue.
Although almost a year has passed since this announcement, the promised reform has still not arrived, and the Ministry of Ecological Transition states that work on this issue is ongoing, maintains open dialogue with family associations to reach maximum consensus, and has not set a deadline for the opening of the reform. A public hearing process for reform once considered urgent.
AND Even if legal reform does not occur, thousands of new large families continue to increase the list of beneficiaries Social electricity bonus and thermal bonus without income limit. More than 380,500 large families received help with their utility bills at the end of last September, after nearly 17,600 new households with three or more children were added since the Executive publicly announced its intention to impose income caps.