Households across Ireland will soon see their electricity bill cut by €100 as the date for the support scheme has been confirmed.
The electricity cost emergency benefit scheme will see bill payers pay €100 as part of a one-time scheme to help people amid rising energy costs.
About 2.1 million account holders will benefit from the program that will be automatically applied to all customers, meaning that people do not need to apply for it.
The Department of Environment hopes that the plan will be completed within the first three months of this year, and the date of the discount has since been confirmed.
€100 will be withdrawn from the household bill by the end of March, the Irish Independent reports.
A law is expected to allow the implementation of the subsidy in the next few weeks.
Here’s everything you need to know about the scheme:
Do I need to register to take advantage of the €100 discount?
There is no need to register to benefit from the support, the system will be automatic.
Who is eligible?
This scheme applies to all local electricity account holders, including pay-as-you-go customers.
When is payment expected?
According to the latest update from the Ministry of the Environment less week, the scheme will require preliminary legislation to pass through the Oireachtas to allow it to operate by the end of the first quarter of 2022.
It has since been reported that the plan is on track to deduct €100 from people’s bills by the end of March.
The department adds that suppliers will put more information on their websites with the exact dates the credit will appear on their customers’ invoices.
My electric bill is included in my rent, will I still get the credit?
Unfortunately, no, as the circuit explains: “For operational reasons, the scheme can only accredit the local electricity account holder.
« In cases where the tenant is not the account holder, whether the account holder passes any portion of the credit on is a matter between the account holder and the tenant. »
Will people with multiple homes qualify?
People with second homes, such as vacation homes, will wonder if they can double their savings.
The department states: “The scheme will be applied to every local electricity account holder, so holiday homes with a local electricity account in Ireland will be included in the scheme.
“The scheme uses the individual eligibility criteria listed above, to enable payments at the earliest opportunity in 2022.
“The system does not have additional eligibility criteria. For example, it has not been tested, because the application of such criteria would invalidate the automatic nature of the existing scheme, and would be cumbersome for clients by requiring a formal application to be submitted and delaying the automatic entry of client accounts.”