The Ministry of Climate and Environment plans to prepare regulations within 2-3 weeks regarding support in the field of energy prices – instead of the current limits – with the introduction of an income criterion, informed the head of the ministry, Paulina Hennig-Kloska.
Electricity bills. Who will receive support?
“Within two or three weeks, regulations will be created in our ministry regarding these prices for the second half of the year. We want to focus primarily on helping people affected by energy poverty, with a worse financial status – i.e. the income criterion. We don’t have a specific one yet – we will announce it together with the act. Today we are also calculating the price level and observing the market to best calculate aid for citizens,” said Hennig-Kloska in the Polityczne Graffiti Polsat News program.
“Anyone for whom it will be a problem to cover this type of amount will receive help, because we want to focus on poorer people. Income per person in the family will be counted – the income criterion must take into account the number of people in the family,” added the minister.
In December, Finance Minister Andrzej Domański announced that it would be possible to extend the frozen energy prices until the second half of the year. next year will be analyzed at the end of Q1 2024.
What were the analysts’ forecasts?
Earlier in December, the president signed an act amending laws to support consumers of electricity, gas fuels and heat. The purpose of the Act is to limit, in the period from January 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024, the impact of increases in the prices of electricity, gas and heat on the most sensitive recipients of these products, including recipients who are households, local government units and public utility entities. . This goal is to be achieved by maintaining the current protection of the most sensitive electricity, gas and heat consumers, compensation for energy and heating companies and introducing additional solutions to correct the currently used ones.
Also in December, PKO Bank Polski analysts estimated that if the Act on freezing electricity, gas and heat prices is not extended to the second half of 2024, consumer inflation (CPI) will increase by 3.1 percentage points in this period. and will reach an average of 8.2% y/y instead of 5.1% y/y.