Social Bonus for Electricity, Gas, and Water Bills 2024: Amounts

Social Bonus for Electricity, Gas, and Water Bills: 2024 Guide

The social bonus for electricity, gas, and water bills is automatically recognized by Arera, eliminating the need to submit a specific request.
This financial assistance is aimed at families facing economic hardship, which is assessed through the Isee parameter.
To benefit from the social bonus, it is sufficient to have an up-to-date Isee (updated to 2024) to receive a discount directly on the electricity and gas bill.
For the water supply, on the other hand, there is no direct discount provided, but a certain number of cubic meters of water are allocated for each family member.
This year, the pool of beneficiaries returns to normal, following the increase in Isee observed in recent years.
The amount of the bonus is not fixed but is determined quarterly by Arera.
The amounts for the second quarter of 2024 (April, May, and June) have already been disclosed.

Electricity Bonus 2024: What Is It?

The electricity bonus for 2024 is a subsidy designed to help financially struggling families who are unable to pay their household utilities.
However, the funding has been reduced and is limited to the first quarter of 2024.
The application process remains the same: to be eligible, no specific request is required, only a valid Dsu submitted for 2024.

Differences Between Social Bonus and Electricity Bonus

It’s essential to distinguish between the Arera social bonus and the electricity bonus for 2024.
These are two separate measures that could be accumulated but with different deadlines.
While the Arera social bonus applies to electricity, gas, and water bills, the 2024 electricity bonus only pertains to the electricity bill for the first quarter of 2024, with varying amounts based on the family size.
The electricity bonus is no longer in effect, having been extended only until March 2024 by the Budget Law.

Social Bonus 2024: Who Is Eligible?

To access the social bonus, certain requirements must be met, starting with demonstrating economic hardship, namely that the Isee does not exceed a specific threshold.
This threshold has returned to normal from January 1, 2024 (except for the electricity bonus for the first quarter of 2024).
Requesting the 2024 bill bonus and who is entitled to a direct discount on electricity, gas, and water bills? Obtaining the social bonus is straightforward as it is automatically applied to your bill – thus, no specific application is necessary.

Who Is Eligible for the 2024 Bill Bonus?

The bill bonus is granted to those in economic hardship or larger families meeting the following criteria:
– Isee up to €9,530; families with at least 4 dependent children (large families) and Isee not exceeding €20,000;
Furthermore, the bills (electricity, gas, or water) must be registered under one of the Isee family members.
Each family is entitled to only one bonus per type (electricity, gas, water) per year of the Dsu (Unique Substitute Declaration) under the uniqueness constraint.

Supply Requirements

The bill bonus is granted based on specific requirements not only from the family but also from the supply.
In particular:
– the rate must be for domestic use; for access to the social water bonus, the supply must be active for residential use, or temporarily suspended due to arrears.
Alternatively, one of the Isee family members must have a centralized supply of natural gas and/or water for domestic use active in residential premises.

Application Process and Required Documents

There is no formal procedure to request the bill bonus since it is automated from January 1, 2021.
Annual submission of the Dsu is sufficient; if the requirements are met, the discount is automatically applied to the bill.
This also applies to other facilitated services such as school meals or family benefits.
To activate the automatic recognition process for entitled individuals, yearly Dsu submission and obtaining an Isee certification within the bonus access threshold or being recipients of citizen’s income/pension are required.
The implementation details can be found in the annex of the resolution.
The billing discount for electricity and gas will start from October.
The key factor is the Isee submission date, if not already in the Inps database.
Information transmission for the billing discount will occur by November for Dsus sent by Inps by September.
For later submissions, the discount will apply from the following month.

Condominium Bill Bonus

Residents/families in economic hardship in condominiums with centralized natural gas and/or water supplies can also benefit from the bill bonuses.
The supplies must meet the following criteria:
– for gas:
– the Delivery Point (DP) must be related to a condominium with residential units using natural gas in premises designated for family housing; the gas must be used for heating and/or cooking and/or hot water production; the supply must be active; the gas supply must be used by the domestic customer in residential premises;
– regarding water:
– must be active; registered to one of the Isee family members.

Electricity and Gas Discount Amount

Arera’s website displays data on bill discounts for the second quarter of 2024, from April 1 to June 30, 2024.
Information about the third quarter of 2024 (July, August, September) will be updated by Arera later on.
The gas social bonus amount depends on the family size, the associated usage category (hot water production and/or cooking, heating only, both types of usage), and the climatic zone where the supply is located.

Social Bonus for Renters?

To benefit from the bill bonuses, one must be the holder of an electricity/gas/water supply contract (barring other economic hardship requirements).
Thus, if the utilities are in the landlord’s name, the discount cannot be claimed.
The same applies if moving, for instance, into the grandparents’ house where the bills are still under their name.

Obtaining the Bonuses

To be eligible for the social bonuses for electricity, water, and gas, a valid Dsu is required; to ensure uninterrupted benefits, it’s recommended to update the Isee annually promptly.
For families with a valid Dsu showing economic hardship, no application is needed as Inps submits the necessary data to the Integrated Information System for bonus allocation.
Once notified, the System verifies the family unit to ensure no member already receives the bonus.
The waiting time to receive the bill bonus directly is approximately:
– 3 to 4 months for electricity and gas; 6 to 7 months for water.