Cabinet compensates part of energy bill: more than 400 euros per household | Inland

The cabinet is allocating 3.2 billion euros for this. Of this, 2.7 billion must go to households and 0.5 billion to companies. That is what State Secretary Dilan Yesilgöz (Energy) says after the cabinet meeting on rising prices for gas and electricity. The cabinet intervened because the energy bill threatened to rise sharply due to the rising prices. According to calculations, for an average household this is about 900 to 1000 euros per year.

Some of it is now being collected. For example, the tax reduction on the energy bill, a fixed amount that everyone receives, will increase by 230 euros per year. In addition, the cabinet is reducing the energy tax on electricity. Added together, it saves an average household more than 400 euros per year in tax on the energy bill, says Yesilgöz.

Energy rates

She speaks of ‘a substantial compensation’: “I think that we really have a limitation on those rising prices.” According to her, the exact amount depends on ‘what kind of contract you have, what kind of house you live in, what kind of household you have’.

Over the past two weeks, the cabinet has been working in a crisis team to find a solution for the rapidly rising energy bill. Many options were discussed, such as freezing tariffs, a general reduction in income tax, a lower VAT on energy bills.

Income

The main question was how it could be possible to obtain compensation for the lower incomes, the people who will be hit hardest by the rising bill. In practice it proved difficult to make it so targeted. “It will also partly reach the people who don’t need it,” admits Yesilgöz. “But I can’t see exactly what kind of contract people have behind every front door. We also want to be able to switch quickly. That is why we chose this.”

This concerns a one-off compensation for the rising energy prices, which must be reflected in the energy bill from 1 January. The surgery lasts for one year.

Insulation houses

In addition to the billions that the cabinet is allocating for the energy bill, there will also be extra money for insulating houses. Minister Ollongren (Internal Affairs) will receive 150 million euros for this. That money goes to the municipalities, which can encourage people there to take insulation measures in their homes. It is up to the municipalities to determine, according to Ollongren.

Earlier we spoke with economists from ABN AMRO who said that we are not yet over the high gas prices.

–