Social Residential Tariff

Question 1

What is a Social Residential Tariff?

Answer 1

The Social Residential Tariff was established to protect vulnerable groups of consumers and is provided in accordance with the decision by the Ministry of Environment, Energy, and Climate Change. A newer ministerial decision amended the categories of beneficiaries, the inclusion criteria, and the discounts granted to them. It also repealed the decision by the Committee on Prices and Revenues that established the Special Tariff for Large Families.

Applications for admission to the new Social Residential Tariff are submitted electronically through the dedicated program of e-Government Center for Social Security IDIKA.

The application shall be submitted by the person liable for filing a household income tax return or his/her spouse, provided that the electricity supply account is already in the name of the liable person or the spouse.

Each household shall be entitled to the Social Residential Tariff only for the power supply of the primary residence.

Beneficiaries of the Social Residential Tariff should apply to be included in the Social Residential Tariff every year and each time within a month upon the lapse of deadline for submitting income tax returns of natural persons as well as any extension thereof, in order to re-check the conditions for admission to the Social Residential Tariff.

Question 2

What are the categories of beneficiaries for the Social Residential Tariff ?

Answer 2

a. Category A of Social Residential Tariff: It applies to customers who qualify for the Social Solidarity Income.

b. Category B of Social Residential Tariff: It applies to customers who meet the following requirements:

i.  They have an annual total actual or imputed income, as this results from the last cleared income tax returns, up to the limits of the table below:

For a household that includes an individual or persons with a sixty-seven percent (67%) disability and above, the aforementioned income limits are increased by EUR eight thousand (8,000).

For a household that includes individuals requiring mechanical support with medical devices at home, which is necessary for their life, the above income limits are increased by EUR fifteen thousand (15.000).

For each additional adult member, the amount of EUR 4,500 is added and for each additional minor member, the amount of EUR 2,250 is added, up to the total limit of EUR 31,500 regardless of the number of household members. This ceiling (€ 31,500) is increased by EUR 8,000 for a household which includes a person with a sixty-seven percent (67%) disability or more and by EUR 15,000 for a household which includes a person in need of mechanical support using medical devices, which is provided at home and is necessary for their lives.

ii. They, themselves and the members of the household own real estate, in Greece or abroad, with a total taxable value, up to the amount of EUR 120,000 for a single person household, increased by EUR 15,000 for each additional member and up to a maximum of EUR 180,000.

iii. Household members do not fall under the provisions of the luxury tax and do not declare living expenses for yacht crew fees, tuition in private schools and for domestic assistants, car drivers, teachers and other staff.

c. Category C of Social Residential Tariff: It applies to customers who meet the following requirements:

Large families, i.e. families with four dependent children or more, through their inclusion in the new distinct category of Social Residential Tariffs beneficiaries, separate from other economically or socially vulnerable population groups.

Extended income criteria for the inclusion of large families in the Social Residential Tariff are applied. For a family with four dependent children, the annual income limit reaches EUR 50,000, while for each additional dependent child, an additional amount of EUR 2,500 is added, up to the total limit of EUR 70,000, regardless of the number of dependent children in the family. Moreover, unlike the other categories of the Social Residential Tariff, the new tariff for large families does not apply any real property criteria for the inclusion of beneficiaries.

Question 3

What are the consumption limits for applying the Social Residential Tariff?

Answer 3

The Social Residential Tariff shall apply to all four-month consumption and up to the corresponding consumption limits foreseen for each beneficiary category:

For consumption of less than 200 kWh per four months, no discount of Social Residential Tariff is calculated.

For a household that includes a person with a sixty-seven percent (67%) disability and above, the above consumption limits are increased by 300 kWh.

For a household that includes persons in need of mechanical support using medical devices, which is provided at home and is necessary for their lives, the above consumption limits are increased by 600 kWh.

For each additional adult member, a consumption of 200 kWh is added and for each additional minor member, a consumption of 100 kWh is added, up to the total limit of 2,400 kWh regardless of the number of household members. This upper limit (2,400 kWh) is increased by 300 kWh for a household comprising a person with a sixty-seven percent (67%) disability or more and by 600 kWh for a household comprising persons in need of mechanical support using medical devices, which is provided at home and is necessary for their lives.

Question 4

What is the discount granted?

Answer 4

The Supplier shall apply the power supply charges based on the Residential Tariff chosen by the customer and shall calculate the discount of the Social Residential Tariff as follows:

The above discount is factored in the supply pricing for the daily consumption. If you have selected the Nighttime Residential Tariff, then the discount is applied on the charge for night consumption (hours of reduced charge), as foreseen in the Ministerial Decision.

Question 5

What additional discount is applied to the Social Residential Tariff customers?

Answer 5

We provide a 50% discount on the energy charges, as of 01.10.2019, to persons with mechanical support who are entitled to the Social Residential Tariff of Category A’ and B’, less the subsidy amount granted by the State, according to the relevant Government Gazette (Government Gazette B/242/01.02.18).

In the Category C of Social Residential Tariff, the beneficiaries benefit for the energy savings they achieve, in relation to the limit of their four-month consumption. For example, a large family with four dependent children and a four-month subsidized consumption limit of 2,000kWh, which will achieve a consumption reduction of 17% (333 kWh), is entitled to a discount of 120 €/MWh, instead of a discount of 100 €/MWh. The additional discount due to achieving the savings target shall not exceed 20% of the basic discount, i.e. 120 €/MWh in total.

Question 6

How billing is done on inclusion to or exclusion from Category A, B, or C of Social Residential Tariff ?

Answer 6

Upon issuing the first Actual Bill, after the initial inclusion date of the beneficiary, the new Social Residential Tariff shall not be applied to the total consumption period of the bill in question, but only for the consumption period following the inclusion date in the new Social Residential Tariff. In particular, for the calculation of consumption with the Social Residential Tariff, the number of inclusion days is multiplied by the average daily consumption of the bill in question (kWh/days of the Actual Bill).