The municipality of Heerlen received ‘many thousands’ of applications for the 800 euro compensation for the high energy bill.
Alderman Peter van Zutphen says that officials are doing everything they can to handle the applications within the set period of eight weeks. “It is deeply sad, the people with the lowest incomes often live in the worst isolated households. They now really have to pay the top prize, and they often can’t do that at all,” says Van Zutphen.
Poverty
Energy company Essent announced that it would raise the variable rates by another 25 to 30 percent, depending on the household. As a result, the bill can increase by another 25 to 100 euros per month. As a result, there are more and more people for whom that bill is almost impossible to pay. Miranda from the Heerlen district of Meezenbroek notices when she goes shopping that she has to make choices because the money is gone at the end of the month.
spearhead
Peter van Zutphen says that ‘a very large group’ of residents are affected by the sky-high energy prices. The new council has therefore formulated the fight against energy poverty as a spearhead. “In the first place, it is the government’s turn,” says responsible alderman Peter van Zutphen (SP). “This can be done by lowering the tax on energy prices or by further increasing the 800 euro compensation for low incomes. No municipality, including Heerlen, has enough money to compensate all citizens. But in our coalition agreement we agreed to municipality to give extra compensation to the largest outliers.”
no penguins
Especially in Heerlen-Noord many people live on a small budget and poorly insulated homes. Ron Meyer is program director Alliantie Heerlen-Noord and must ensure that the area is renewed in the coming years. “The high energy prices show once again that the houses in this area need renovation,” says Meyer. “The housing associations have not carried out sufficient maintenance in recent years. The discussion about sustainability should not be about the penguin, but about the energy bill.”