This is part of the arsenal of economic and social measures taken by the Walloon government since the start of the health crisis:
- Suspension of threat of power cut until June 30 for holders of a budget meter for gas or electricity
- A premium of 100 euros for electricity and 75 euros for gas
The method
It is both simple and complex.
Households with a budget meter and who have activated this no-cut option
They must imperatively before June 30:
- Pass their card in the counter
- Pass their card in a charging station
- Pass their card again in the counter
Please note: the Walloon Minister of Energy Philippe Henry (Ecolo) is sounding the alarm. It is estimated that at least 30% of families who have asked to be protected from any risk of cut have not yet repeated the counter / terminal / counter operation as requested. For them, the risk of power failure is therefore very real if they do not do so before the end of this month!
Then, to benefit from the premium, it is necessary to repeat the operation before October 30:
- Pass the card through the counter
- Pass the card in a charging station
- Pass the card through the counter again
Households with a budget meter but who have not activated this no-cut option
They must carry out this same operation in 3 stages, but only once, and before the end of October, to benefit from the promised bonus.
Downside
For those who have been protected from any risk of cutting, the energy consumed has not become free. The prepayment was simply deleted and the billing postponed. A “bubble” that will have to be deflated.
“These households have somehow created a debt that will indeed have to be settled, explains Sabine Wernerus, counselor at the Federation of CPAS. And we fear an influx of people who are already in financial difficulties, who potentially are more because of the health crisis, and who will therefore have difficulty honoring this regularization bill. “
If so, it would be a perverse effect of a social measure taken precisely to protect already vulnerable households, forced to stay more at home during confinement and therefore to increase their energy needs.
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