Family bonus 2023: how the rebates in the bill work
- The new measures for households
- The measures against high energy prices
- How the 2023 family bonus works
- When it will arrive
- The change in the Isee ceiling
- The beneficiaries
- The current amounts
Fears of a new increase in energy bills, starting April 1, have been "averted." The Council of Ministers has given the green light to a measure containing measures to support families and businesses against high energy prices. In fact, the family bonus, provided for households with Isee up to 15,000 euros, was extended with regard to electricity bills, while for gas, the reduction of VAT to 5 percent and the zeroing of system charges was confirmed for the second quarter of 2023. But there is also a novelty: an incentive for energy savings will start from autumn for all citizens, so regardless of income.
The new measures for households
The first good news is that the social bonus or Family bonus, the discount on electricity and gas bills for families with Isee up to 15,000 euros, has been extended until June 30. The news, however, mainly concerns the gas bill front. The decree just signed by the executive, in fact, provides for the arrival of an incentive for energy savings, without income limits, that is, obtainable by all citizens.
It will start on October 1 and continue until December 31, 2023: everyone, therefore, will be able to receive a contribution to offset heating expenses. The criteria, which will be specifically defined in an implementing decree by the Minister of the Environment together with the Minister of the Economy, should follow the same principle adopted at the European level for the winter that has just ended: it should be triggered automatically if the price of gas exceeds a certain threshold. It will not, therefore, be necessary to apply for it. Arera, the sector's regulatory authority, will indicate the application modalities, and the subsidy will be disbursed with a fixed fee, but different according to climate zones. In general, therefore, the line of support for households on the energy front is confirmed.
Measures against high energy prices
If the price of gas has gradually fallen after the negative records reached in recent months, in fact, bills continue to be a not inconsiderable burden on family budgets. That is why with the Financial Maneuver 2023 it was already thought of "tweaking" the Energy Bills Bonus. Therefore, a Family Bonus was envisioned to support citizens with households with electricity and gas expenses, while at the same time incentivizing the reduction of energy consumption.
How the Family Bonus 2023 works
Announcing the arrival of the Family Bonus was Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti. In particular, confirming the anticipations, a "discount" on gas bills is now announced, they should be divided into two parts, with a fixed and a variable share to which a "discount" would be applied. In addition, there would also be a second goal, namely to incentivize energy saving, rewarding those who consume less. Hence the skepticism of consumer associations: "It is abundantly clear that if the rebates would remain only for those who consume less than this year, it would be a ploy and an excuse not to renew the tax cut on bills. Since this year has been the warmest winter ever, Italians have turned on the heaters for 15 days less and an hour a day less because of Cingolani's measures," comments Massimiliano Dona, president of the National Consumers Union. "No family will be able to save on gas consumption this heating season. Not to mention that, given the heart attack bills, everyone has already performed miracles to save on both electricity and gas."
When it will arrive
In terms of timing, the go-ahead is awaited from Arera regarding affordability. The idea is to provide a threshold price for gas and electricity, above which the right to support will be triggered. Another aspect to be defined then concerns the Isee thresholds to access the Bonus. At the moment, however, the Energy Bonus remains in place, with Isee limits modified for 2023.
The modification of the Isee ceiling
With the financial maneuver, in fact, a first novelty has already arrived and it is the raising to 15 thousand euros of the Isee value to receive the social bonus for electricity and gas bills and to 9,530 euros for water supply. This is a change introduced for 2023 and therefore already in effect, which increased the Isee from the previous 12 thousand euros, thus expanding the pool of potential beneficiaries. For families with at least four dependent children, however, the limit remained at 20 thousand euros. It should be recalled that for social "energy" bonuses, no application needs to be submitted: it is sufficient to have the Isee certifying the income situation, and the Inps notifies the eligible beneficiaries to the energy managers who can apply the "discount" automatically.
Beneficiaries
At the moment, all households up to 15 thousand euros of income, or up to 20 thousand if with at least 4 dependent children, are eligible for the energy bonus for electricity, gas and water, but also holders of the citizenship income (which should soon become Mia, the active inclusion measure.
One parameter that should continue to be used for the Family Bonus, however, will be that one of the members of the ISEE household must be the holder of an electricity and/or natural gas supply contract (the same applies to the water bonus); alternatively, one of the members of the ISEE household must use, in premises used as family dwellings, a condominium (centralized) supply of natural gas and/or water for civil and active use.
Current amounts
The household bonus is thus expected to supplement and replace the previous utility bill bonus, which provided different amounts based on household status. For electricity, for example, until the end of 2022 it was 264.10 euros for a family with 1 or 2 components (per month 86.1 euros); 321.42 euros for a family up to 4 components (per month 104.7 euros); 378.57 euros for a family with more than 4 components (per month 123.3 euros). For gas, on the other hand, it ranges from 276.92 euros per quarter for areas such as Sicily and Reggio Calabria, up to a maximum of 1,436.12 euros quarterly (i.e., 478.71 euros per month in areas such as Veneto and Piedmont, in both cases with households of 4 people and up. For larger households it can go up to 2,058.96 euros for Veneto and Piedmont. The parameters also include consideration of the climatic zone to which the supply point belongs (for gas only, as it binds
