News item | 19-12-2024 | 7:35 PM
The government is exploring the options for supporting households that have difficulty paying their energy bills next year. 60 million euros has been reserved for this purpose for 2025.
In recent months, extensive and constructive discussions have taken place with energy suppliers, banks, companies, municipalities and social organizations, among others. The aim was to provide financial support to households for the short term and help with sustainability for the longer term. State Secretary Jurgen Nobel wrote this in a letter to the House of Representatives.
In these discussions, not enough additional financing was promised to set up a national energy fund. As a result, all legal and financial conditions for a public-private fund cannot be met, as was the case with the Temporary Energy Emergency Fund in 2023 and 2024.
Long-term sustainability
Nevertheless, the government continues to work with all parties involved to provide long-term support for households, if possible through the Social Climate Fund that will be available from 2026. The focus is on sustainability, because this can lead to lower energy consumption and lower costs.
The aim is to inform the House of Representatives about the next steps in the first quarter of next year.