ESPECIALISTAS EN AHORRO, ELECTRICIDAD Y GAS
Bono Social
                                                       BONO SOCIAL
Electric Social Bonus: When and How to request it, Renew, Calculate

The Social Electricity Bonus is an aid offered by the Government so that people with fewer economic resources can pay their electricity bills. To benefit from the Social Bonus it is essential to meet a series of requirements regarding income level and family situation, and the application must be managed directly with a Reference Marketing Company.
The self-employed, unemployed, workers on ERTE or on reduced hours due to care affected by the Coronavirus will also be able to access help from the Electric Social Bonus.

Access for more information.

Who can request the Social Light Bonus?
The Social Electricity Bonus or Social Electricity Bonus is intended for vulnerable consumers with a complicated economic situation. This is a discount offered by the Government to help families pay their electricity bills.

The people who can request the Social Bonus are vulnerable consumers.

The latest regulations for the Social Bonus, Royal Decree 897/2017 of October 7, indicate that this consideration is granted to those who meet certain requirements regarding their family situation and their level of annual income.

How much does it cost to apply for the Social Light Bonus?

Requesting the Social Electricity Bonus is completely free.

There are a series of conditions that all users who want to request the Social Bonus must meet:

• The person who requests it must be the owner of the electricity contract.
• You must have contracted the PVPC rate, also known as Voluntary Small Consumer Price.
• The PVPC rate can only be contracted with a Reference Marketer.
• Have a contracted electrical power equal to or less than 10 kW.
• The Social Bonus can only be requested for the family's primary home, not for second homes.

Once the Reference Marketer receives the request for the Social Bonus from any user, as long as they meet the necessary requirements, an approximate time of 15 days is estimated to apply the discount to their invoice.

Requirements to request the electric Social Bonus

Being a beneficiary of the Electric Social Bonus depends on the family unit and the level of annual income.
Depending on these conditions, a family can be considered a vulnerable consumer, severe vulnerable consumer or severe vulnerable consumer at risk of social exclusion.

Family units can be made up of a single person, couples without children or people with dependent minors. In addition, special conditions are included that allow you to benefit from a higher admissible income margin: disability equal to or greater than 33%, victims of terrorism and victims of gender violence.

At the same time, there are people who have guaranteed access to help, regardless of their income level:

• Large families, both general and special.
• Retirement or permanent disability pensioners who receive the minimum benefit for their category.

To find out if you can apply for the Electric Social Bonus based on your income and personal situation, you can consult all the possible requirements in the following table.

Requirements to request the Social Light Bonus

Type of consumer Family situation Income less than:

General situation Special situation

Vulnerable consumer Individuals or couples without children €11,279/year €15,039/year

Families with a minor at home €15,039/year €18,799/year

Families with two minors €18,799/year €22,559/year

Large families Regardless of income Regardless of income

Pensioners with minimum benefits Regardless of income Regardless of income

Severe vulnerable consumer Individuals or couples without children €5,640/year €7,520/year

Families with a minor at home €7,520/year €9,340/year

Families with two minors €9,340/year €11,279/year

Large families €15,039/year €15,039/year

Pensioners with minimum benefits €7,520/year €7,520/year

At risk of exclusion Severely vulnerable consumers who have other help that represents at least 50% of their bill Same as a severely vulnerable consumer Same as a severely vulnerable consumer

Those consumers with a single-parent family, with members with a disability equal to or greater than 33%, members with degree of dependency II or III, victims of terrorism or gender violence will belong to the "special situation group."

It will not be allowed to cut off the supply to those "vulnerable consumers at risk of exclusion" who have at least one child under 16 years of age, a person with a disability equal to or greater than 33% or with a degree of dependency II or III and those who present a vulnerability certificate.

Pensioners with a minimum pension may receive other annual aid that does not exceed €500.

How much is your Social Bonus?

Depending on the situation, you can acquire greater or lesser aid for the Social Bonus.

In the next section you can calculate the discount percentage that corresponds to you according to your personal situation.
Do you want to know what is the most economical alternative to the social bonus?

At ESME-ENERGY we advise you for free and without obligation. Call us!
627 24 75 60 or We will call you

What discount does the Electric Social Bonus give?

The new Social Electricity Bonus includes two types of discounts, which are assigned depending on the corresponding consumer category. It should be noted that in the case of severely vulnerable consumers at risk of social exclusion, users will not have to pay the amount of their electricity bill in any case. This will be 100% subsidized by the Public Administration and the companies themselves.
The Social Bonus discount is applied to the total electricity bill. That is, on the power term and the consumption term, what is paid for the contracted power and electricity consumption. However, it is not applied in the same way in both concepts, since the new Social Bonus includes limits on subsidized electricity consumption.

When does the Social Bonus begin to be applied?

Once the request for the Social Electricity Bonus is accepted for processing, the company has 15 days to provide a response to the consumer. After this period, the Reference Marketer must notify the user whether or not they are entitled to the aid or if it is necessary to correct any type of error related to their request, such as missing documentation to be delivered.

The application of the Electric Social Bonus is contemplated from the day the application was fully accepted for processing, once errors are corrected and all documentation is provided. This means that although the discount will begin to be applied to subsequent invoices, they must consider the reduction that corresponded to the previous invoice that reached the consumer during the processing period.

When it is necessary to provide new documentation, the company has another 15 days from when the request is complete to provide a definitive response.

If the company's response, in any case, is negative to the granting of aid, the consumer can file a claim to request a new review of their circumstances.

Social Bonus simulator application: Calculate your discount

Currently there is an application that allows you to know if a user is entitled to the Social Bonus based on the conditions they meet. With the help of this simulator, all clients can check if they can be considered a vulnerable consumer, a severely vulnerable consumer or a severely vulnerable consumer at risk of social exclusion. This will determine what discount you can access on your electricity bills.

Find out if you have a discount for the electric social bonus

Calculate discount

The Social Bonus simulator has been developed in collaboration with the National Markets and Competition Commission, which closely monitors that the activities carried out within the energy sector respect current regulations.

In addition, all consumers can obtain information about their right to the Social Bonus through their local social services.

Social Bonus consumption limits

The Social Bonus electricity discount is applied to the total bill, although there is an annual energy consumption limit (kWh consumed).

The inclusion of the consumption limits of the Social Bonus implies that electricity consumed above the limit will be charged at the price of the PVPC rate without discount.

Social Bonus electricity consumption limits

Family situation Consumption per year Consumption per month approximate
CONSUMPTION PER YEAR CONSUMPTION PER MONTH
Families without children 1,380 kWh 115 kWh
Families with a minor 1,932 kWh 160 kWh
Families with two minors 2,346 kWh 195 kWh
Large families 4,140 kWh 345 kWh
Pensioners 1,932 kWh 160 kWh

Let's see what total discount would be applied to the monthly electricity bill of a family with two minors, a contracted power of 4.6kW and a consumption of 500 kWh/month.

Savings simulation with the Social Bonus

Price for power Price for energy consumed Total without discount Price after Social Bonus discount

With 25% With 40%
€15.79 €60.44 €76.23 €67.15 €61.69

The amount has been calculated taking into account the average PVPC prices in 2019
This table includes both the part of subsidized energy and the part that is above the limit, which is simply billed at the normal PVPC price without a discount.

Companies with which you can request the Social Bonus

The management of the Social Bonus for electricity depends on the electricity companies that operate in the regulated market. These are also the electricity marketers that offer the PVPC regulated rate.

To request the Social Bonus with a company you must have contracted the PVPC rate with that same company.

Currently, there are eight Reference Marketers in Spain, since, to be recognized as such, they must meet a series of requirements demanded by the Government.

In the following list you can find out all the steps you must follow to request the Social Bonus with each of the companies that offer it:

• With which company can I request the Social Electricity Bonus?

• Energía XXI (Endesa Reference Marketing Company)
• Curenergía (Iberdrola Reference Marketing Company)
• Gas & Power (Naturgy Reference Marketing Company)
• Baser (EDP Reference Marketer)
• Régsiti (Repsol Reference Marketing Company)
• CHC Energy
• Teramelcor (Melilla)
• Ceuta Electric Lighting Company (Ceuta)

How to request the Social Bonus?
The request for the Social Bonus must be made directly with the chosen Reference Marketer, for which the application form and the necessary documentation must be sent to prove that the required conditions are met.

The Social Bonus application form is unique to each company, since it must contain the identification and tax data of each marketer.

You can download the form you need from the following links:

Once the necessary documentation has been gathered and the form has been completed, the request can be formalized through any of the channels that the company makes available to users. Some Reference Marketers allow shipping via multiple channels, while others are limited to one or two.
In case of doubt, it is always best to contact the Reference Marketer by phone so that they can indicate the best way to make the request in each case. Typically, contact information for each company can be found on their respective websites.

  • Download application form for Energía XXI (Endesa)
  • Download Curnergía application form (Iberdrola)
  • Download Gas & Power application form (Naturgy)
  • Download Baser application form (EDP)
  • Download Régsiti application form (Repsol)
  • Download CHC application form
  • Download Teramelcor application form
  • Download application form for Ceuta Electric Lighting Company
Documentation to request the Social Bonus

To request the Social Bonus it is necessary to provide the company with information that demonstrates that the requirements to benefit from the aid are met.
This documentation may vary depending on the characteristics of each family unit.
Furthermore, at the moment it may be necessary to provide a copy of the latest Income Tax return, since the telematics platform that the Government makes available to companies is not one hundred percent implemented. It is also possible to provide a certificate of imputations issued by the Tax Agency, which must reflect the income of each person in the family unit during the previous year.

• Documentation necessary to request the Social Bonus
• DNI of the contract holder, who is the one requesting the help
• DNI of minors who are over 14 years old
• Certificate of registration in the home of all members of the family unit
• Family Book
• Large Family Title, if this condition exists
• Certificate issued by Social Security if a minimum pension is received
• Certificate from social services when special situations apply such as disability equal to or greater than 33%, victims of terrorism or victims of gender violence.

How long can I have the Social Bonus discount?

The new Social Bonus is valid for two years.
This duration applies to all vulnerable consumers with the exception of large families.
The Social Bonus for large families has the same duration as the title that grants this condition.
The duration of the Social Bonus is extended as long as the conditions of the family unit do not change, because if for any reason they entail the loss of the right to benefit from the aid, consumers are obliged to notify the electricity company themselves.
To update the information (which may also simply involve a change in the applicable discount rate), it is necessary to send a letter to the Reference Marketer within 30 days of the change occurring.

When do I have to renew the Social Light Bonus?

The renewal of the Social Electricity Bonus must be carried out at least 15 days before the end of its two-year duration. It is the obligation of the Reference Merchant to inform in the last invoice before the end of the validity period of this aid.

The situations in which the Social Bonus must be renewed are:

1. When the application of the aid ends after two years.
2. If, being a large family, the card for this condition must be renewed.
In any case, if the deadline for renewal is exceeded, the consumer can request it again later. Of course, to continue uninterruptedly with the application of the discount, it must be done within the deadline, as it is the only way to guarantee it.

Can the Social Bonus be lost?

To benefit from the Social Bonus discount it is necessary to maintain compliance with the conditions of its application.
Thus, it is possible to lose the Social Bonus if:

• The conditions to access aid are no longer met.
• The Social Bonus is not renewed within the deadline, so it stops being applied until a new request is made.

Furthermore, with the change in regulations for the new Social Bonus, there are certain groups that will lose the Social Bonus because they do not comply with the new requirements.

Employees and self-employed workers affected by the Coronavirus situation
Employees affected by ERTE, unemployment or reductions for care

A new vulnerable consumer appears affected by the situation of unemployment, temporary regulation (ERTE) or reduction of working hours for care reasons who can qualify for help from the Electric Social Bonus.

People who belong to this group may apply for aid until the deadline of June 30, 2021. To benefit from this aid after the indicated date, they must re-apply for the social bonus as long as they meet the general requirements.

To qualify for social assistance, the applicant must demonstrate through a Responsible Declaration that they meet all the requirements and that their total income for the previous month did not reach the following limit:

Social Bonus Requirements for unemployed, employees in ERTE or in reduction of working hours for care
Family situation Income less than:

Individuals or couples without children €939.95/month (1.5 X IPREM of 14 payments)

Families with a minor €1,253.26/month (2 X IPREM of 14 payments)

Families with two minors €1,566.58/month (2.5 X IPREM of 14 payments)

Score 0.5 points more to obtain it if the family unit includes a member with a disability greater than 33%, is a victim of gender violence, terrorism or has degree II or III dependency.

Social Bonus Form for unemployed workers, ERTE or reduction of working hours for care

Request

The contracted company must inform each consumer of the end of the aid granted by the Social Bonus with an approximate period of 30 days before the deadline of June 30, 2021.

To request the social bonus in this situation, you must provide all the required information and some new documents depending on the condition of the consumer:
In case of legal unemployment status, certificate issued by the benefit management entity.

In case of cessation of activity of self-employed workers, certificate issued by the State Tax Administration Agency or the competent body of the Autonomous Community, where applicable, on the basis of the declaration of cessation of activity declared by the interested party. .

Self-employed workers affected by the COVID situation

There is also the figure of self-employed workers who have been left unemployed or whose turnover has been reduced by 75% compared to the previous semester due to COVID-19. These may benefit from the electric Social Bonus temporarily (maximum period of 6 months) as indicated in Royal Decree Law 11/2020 of March 31.

If the situation of the affected person or family improves during that maximum period of 6 months from when they request the aid, they must notify the marketing company with whom they have requested the Electric Social Bonus.

The discount they will be eligible for will be 25% of the total electricity bill.

In order to qualify for the Social Bonus, it is essential to have contracted the PVPC rate and prove to the Reference Marketer the situation of regulation or loss of employment.
In the following table you can find out the requirements of the new vulnerable consumer group to qualify for help:

Social Bonus Requirements for Self-Employed and Employees Affected by the Coronavirus
Family situation Income less than:

Individuals or couples without children €18,799/year (2.5 X IPREM of 14 payments)
Families with a minor €22,559/year (3 X IPREM of 14 payments)
Large families €26,318/year (3.5 X IPREM of 14 payments)

To be a beneficiary of this aid, the person who meets the necessary requirements must appear as the owner of the electricity contract.

Self-Employed Social Bonus Form affected by COVID-19

Request

Social Bonus for large families

The new Social Bonus maintains aid for all large families, whether general or special. In this case, the Social Bonus discount for large families is applied to a consumption limit established by their condition, regardless of the number of members of the family unit.

The consumption limit to which the Social Bonus discount can be applied is 4,140 kWh. Once these kWh consumed are exceeded, the rest of the consumption will be billed at the price indicated by the PVPC regulated rate.

Social Bonus for pensioners

One of the new features of the latest Social Bonus regulations is the type of pensions required to access the Social Bonus per pensioner. In this case, the supported benefits are:

1. Minimum retirement pensions
2. Minimum pensions for permanent disability

In this way, all pensioners who had the Social Bonus for other types of benefits (such as widowhood or non-contributory benefits) will stop receiving the aid for this reason. In this case, these users must renew the Social Bonus for the general category so that their application is accepted based on their annual income level.

The Social Bonus per pensioner has been one of the most criticized with the approval of the new Social Bonus, since the consumption limit applicable to all these users will be different from what, in principle, would correspond to them.

The consumption limit to which the discount would be applied is 1,932 kWh.

Social Bonus for power

The previous regulations contemplated the application of the Social Bonus for contracted power less than 3kW. For these users, the discount was made directly on the invoices for the mere fact of having less than 3kW of contracted power.

However, the new regulations do not include the Social Bonus by power as one of the possibilities to have access to aid. For this reason, all users who had the Social Bonus for contracted power less than 3kW must check if they meet the requirements and renew the Social Bonus for the income level.

Social Disability Bonus

The Social Bonus for disability, as such, does not exist. However, the fact that the holder of the electricity contract or one of the members of his or her family unit has a recognized disability equal to or greater than 33% is considered a special situation. This allows these families to benefit from a broader income threshold to facilitate their access to help when there are additional difficulties.

If you want to apply for the Social Bonus with a disability, it will be necessary to provide the certificate from social services that certifies compliance with this condition, although it will not need to be nominative.

Social Bonus for unemployed

The electricity supply does not have a Social Bonus for the unemployed. Although it is true that the old regulations contemplated the situation of unemployment as a direct beneficiary of the aid, the new Social Bonus no longer includes this case as a condition for applying the discount.

As is the case with pensioners and people who had the Social Bonus due to contracted power, this group of users must renew the Social Bonus through the general annual income regime so that the discount continues to be applied, as long as they meet the requirements demanded by the new Social Bonus.

Can I request the thermal or gas Social Bonus?

Like the Social Bonus for electricity, the Social Thermal or gas Bonus allows the most vulnerable consumers to benefit from a discount on expenses for heating, cooking and hot water, regardless of the source that supplies it.

While the Social Light Bonus is an aid that users receive monthly, this new Social Thermal Bonus will be received once a year. According to official sources, the amount of this aid will be received during the first quarter of each year and will be paid for by the General State Budgets.

Whocan benefit from the Social Bonus Thermal?

TheUsers who can benefit from this Social Gas Bonus are those who are covered by the PVPC electricity rate and receive the help of the Social Electricity Bonus as of December 31 of the previous year, regardless of whether the gas rate they have contracted belongs to free market or the regulated market TUR gas rate.
The minimum amount that each of your beneficiaries will receive depends on different factors, with the guaranteed minimum amount being €25 per year. Depending on the degree of vulnerability of the user, the area of residence and its climatic conditions, this aid will be increased in the following ways:

Savings simulation with the Social Bonus

According to the Zone Vulnerable user Severe vulnerable user
At €25 €40
B €29 €47
C €39 €62
D €52 €83
E €71 €113
We identify zone A as the warmest and zone E as the coldest


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