One of the avenues for relieving household wallets in the face of soaring energy prices is to extend the social tariff. This “reduced” energy tariff is currently granted to around 20% of the population. So who might benefit from it?
When it comes to the gas and electricity bill, the report is unanimous. Fear stalks the majority of consumers. “I’m waiting for my regularization bill, it’s a major source of stress because we really don’t know what sauce we’re going to be eaten”, says a young man. “We have always been careful and despite everything, it is very difficult”reveals a father.
A saving of 1,512 euros per year
The social tariff makes it possible to relieve the wallet of part of the population. By benefiting from an advantageous tariff for energy costs, these households can save money. Concretely, without this reduced tariff, a single person in Belgium would pay 186 euros per month for gas and electricity. Thanks to the social tariff, she pays 60 euros per month, which corresponds to a saving of 1,512 euros per year.
The people most affected today are the lower middle class
The problem is that some households are not entitled to it. “The people therefore most affected today are the middle class and in particular the lower middle class, those who do not benefit from a social tariff., says Philippe Ledent, economist at the Institute for Sustainable Development. “The problem of the lower middle class is that they do not have enough means to protect themselves once morest energy increases but they earn too much money to benefit from the social tariff”, emphasizes the economist.
In 2020, 10% of households benefited from reduced prices thanks to their status on the one hand and their gross annual income below 20,000 euros on the other. After the health crisis, there was no longer any question of status, only the income condition was applied, i.e. 20% of households.
Up to 40% of the population?
“I think it would be reasonable at least to go from 20 to 30 or even 40% of the population who would benefit either from the social tariff or from an intermediate social tariff”, believes Philippe Ledent.
Extending the social tariff might therefore be a solution to help the most affected Belgians.
