Bill to protect energy consumers and cut natural gas use

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1. The bill would let homeowners' associations with central gas heating temporarily join the last-resort natural gas rate, a maximum price, until December 31, 2023. As a condition, they must install individual heating meters.
2. It would raise the minimum thermal social bonus payment from 25 to 40 euros per beneficiary, and add 225 million euros to fund it in 2022.
3. It would strengthen natural gas consumer protection: cap the penalty for switching suppliers in the first year, require canceling extra services when the contract ends, and require bills to show your average use compared with your zip code plus a link to the CNMC offer comparison tool.
4. It would raise the electricity social bonus discounts: from 60 to 65 % for vulnerable consumers and from 70 to 80 % for severely vulnerable ones, until December 31, 2023. It would also raise the annual usage limits eligible for the discount by 15 %.
5. It would create a new temporary vulnerable consumer category for households earning between 1.5 and 2 times the IPREMIPREM A public income index used in Spain to determine eligibility for aid., who could get a 40 % discount on the regulated electricity price until December 31, 2023.
6. It would boost self-consumption of electricity: allow grid-based self-consumption up to 1,000 meters for rooftop plants, drop the requirement that producer and consumer belong to the same corporate group for renewable direct lines, and let renewable energy communities represent consumers.
7. It would approve an additional 1.5 % pay raise for public sector employees in 2022, with a maximum consolidated 3.5 %, paid in the November payroll with back pay from January.
8. It would cut from 35 to 10 the contributed workdays that seasonal farm workers in Andalusia and Extremadura need to receive unemployment benefits or the farm income support, due to the drought.

Who it affects

• Homeowners' associations with central gas heating: They could join a cheaper gas rate if they install individual meters.
• Vulnerable and low-income households: They would get bigger discounts on electricity bills and a larger thermal social bonus payment.
• Public sector employees: They would receive an additional 1.5 % raise in 2022, with back pay from January.
• Seasonal farm workers in Andalusia and Extremadura: They could receive benefits with only 10 contributed workdays.
• Companies and self-employed workers: They could freely depreciate renewable self-consumption investments and make their electricity and gas contracts more flexible.

Words worth knowing

Tarifa de último recurso (last-resort rate)

A maximum price that designated suppliers can charge consumers entitled to it.

Bono social (social bonus)

A discount on the electricity bill for households in a situation of vulnerability.

Bono social térmico (thermal social bonus)

A payment to help vulnerable households pay for heating, hot water or cooking.

PVPC

The regulated electricity tariff whose price changes every hour.

IPREM

A public income index used in Spain to determine eligibility for aid.

It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries