In a few weeks, the beneficiaries of the exceptional energy check will receive their payment. For 2023, can we expect an increase in the amount of aid? And if I plan to change contract or energy supplier by next year, what are the steps to take for the energy check? Here are all the answers to your questions.
Even if winter 2022 is coming “in line with seasonal norms” for Météo France, one thing is certain, households will receive more than severe energy bills in their mailboxes this year. Given the current inflation and the observed rise in energy prices, the government is planning – taking into account the tariff shield – an average increase in gas bills of 25 euros per month and 20 euros on the electricity side. It may not seem like much to some, but for modest households and the most precarious the budget is substantial. So in order to help them as best as possible, the executive has put in place a series ofenergy consumption aidsof which the exceptional end-of-year energy check. Aid that uses the model of the classic energy check, paid every year in the spring since 2018, but which differs by its “exceptional” title. Not to be confused therefore, nor even with the fuel oil energy check. In anticipation of next year, a question may arise: does the government intend to increase the amount of the energy checkas it was able to do for other social assistance ? In any case, this is what the association Consumption Housing Life Framework (CLCV) is asking for. The organization wants the executive to increase the amount of the energy check by 2023 from 200 to 600 euros depending on household income.
Towards a revaluation of the energy check in 2023?
For the association, the current amount of the energy check is far from enough to help households in need. “No, 48 euros per year of energy checks do not allow you to pay your electricity bill. heater for a single person with an income of 900 euros per month. No, 276 euros per year does not pay the heating bill for a single-parent family with 2 children and an income of 840 euros per month. The cost of heating is currently 1200 to 2000 euros per year, with an aggravation of 15% in 2023. The situation of the French will not improve in 2023“, can we read in the CLCV press release. The association wants to call on the executive to significantly increase the amount of the energy check from next year, and to extend the system to more households. For the time being, the government has not mentioned a possible revaluation of this aid.
What is the amount of the 2023 energy check?
To determine the amount of the energy check, the government establishes a scale upstream according to the resources and the composition of the households. As indicated on the website of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, since January 1, 2021, the scale in place is as follows:
| RFR / UC < 5,600 euros | €5,600 ≤ RFR / | €6,700 ≤ RFR / | 7,700 euros ≤ RFR / UC < 10,800 euros | |
| 1 CU* | 194 euros | 146 euros | 98 euros | 48 euros |
| 1 < UC < 2 | 240 euros | 176 euros | 113 euros | 63 euros |
| 2 CUs or more | 277 euros | 202 euros | 126 euros | 76 euros |
In 2023, we can therefore expect that a single person, with a taxable income of less than 5,600 euros, will receive an energy check for a maximum amount of 194 euro. It will also be automatically paid in April 2023, the date depends on each department.
*consumption unit (CU)
When will the exceptional 2022 energy check be paid?
The official payment date for the exceptional 2022 energy check has not yet been announced. Contacted by our editorial staff a few weeks ago, the DILA press service of the government has informed us that the aid will fall in December 2022remains to be known the precise day. The site dedicated to the energy voucher indicates that the energy check will be automatically sent to beneficiaries from the end of December. Anyway, the payment will be made by department and the check will be sent by mail to the beneficiaries.
What is the amount of the exceptional energy check 2022?
The second exceptional check “comes in addition to the extension of the tariff shield in 2023” through which are announced: – gas: + 25 euros per month instead of 200 – electricity: + 20 euros per month instead of 180 |
|---|
In 2022, the amount of the exceptional energy check will be 100 or 200 euros, depending on the standard of living of the household. 40% of families, considered to be the most modest, are affected by this aid, ie 12 million families in total.
- 20% of these most disadvantaged families will receive 200 euros
- households in deciles 3 and 4 (between the poorest 20% and the wealthiest 60%) will receive 100 euros.
“For example, a single mother with two children who earns the minimum wage will receive an exceptional energy check of 200 euros and a working couple with two children who earn 3,000 euros net cumulatively will receive 100 euros”, explained Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. This aid is supposed to curb the announced increase in gas and electricity in 2023, which despite the tariff shield will still increase by 15%.
What are the resource ceilings to be able to receive the exceptional energy check?
| Revenue less than 13,310 euros | 200 euros |
| Revenue between 13,310 and 18,610 euros | 100 euros |
Should the amount be adapted to the region?
In the current state, the mechanism for distributing the exceptional energy check is not fair. This is in any case what deplores the socialist senator of Moselle, Jean-Marc Todeschini. “Giving the same help to a household in Metz or Nice, with an average winter temperature difference of +10°C, is not fair”, indignantly elected on Twitter. On this subject, he challenged the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne in a letter that he shared online. In it, he asks the minister that the amount of the energy check is “increased for the inhabitants of the departments with the coldest average winter temperatures”. This would make it possible to obtain a “fair and equitable aid” for all French households. For the senator, the energy check as it is imagined today by the government, does not respond to the real difficulties faced by households.
Who is eligible for the energy check? Terms
This second exceptional energy check is intended for the poorest 40% of French people. To be eligible, beneficiaries must complete two conditionsto know :
- “live in a dwelling that is subject to housing tax”
- “have declared their income to the tax authorities and not exceed a certain amount of resources”.
Help is therefore awarded subject to means testing. “To qualify, your household’s annual tax reference income (RFR) must be less than €10,800 per consumption unit (UC)”, indicates the site of the Public Service. For the end of 2022, a second exceptional energy check was deployed to help the “12 million of the poorest households, i.e. 4 out of 10 households“said the Prime Minister at a press conference.
Since 2018, the energy check has been granted to households as an aid for energy consumption. Therefore, it must be used to pay only certain expenses : bills and energy charges, but also the purchase of fuel (gas, heating oil, wood, etc.) and certain works for your home. This “cheque” is not not cashable by banks. It is only admissible with three types of service providers:
- Energy suppliers to pay electricity, gas, wood or fuel bills
- The managers of your accommodation (HLM, EPHAD, EHPA)
- The companies of renovation to finance energy renovation work (such as installing heat pumps, for example)
He is can be combined with the MaPrimeRénov’ scheme. Thus, you can directly use it online via this platform, where you can create your secure personal space, and carry out all your procedures relating to the energy check. Also to know that the 2022 energy check is valid until March 31, 2023. The validity date is normally written on the back of the check. Suppliers can therefore accept it until this date.
What are the steps to take ?
As for the exceptional solidarity aid, planned by the government to deal with inflation, To receive the energy voucher, there is no procedure to take. In principle, the tax administration lists the persons meeting the conditions for allocation. This list is then sent to the Services and Payment Agency (ASP), which sends the energy check to the beneficiaries by post.
You are eligible for the energy check and yet you still have not received it? In principle, the dispatch takes place automatically by post. If you do not receive anything, there is a complaints procedure to do. For this you must fill in online this form, available on the chequenergie.gouv.fr website. The subject of the request must be “Dispute – Non-receipt”. After entering the various information, your complaint will be processed by a service. And if you don’t want to wait, another option is possible. There is a “energy check” phone number to contact : 0 805 204 805 (available Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). You will then be put in touch with an advisor who will guide you for your request.
If I change energy supplier or contract in 2023, what should I do?
By next year, it may be due to a move or for reasons that belong to you that you want to change energy supplier or contract. But then, you are already eligible for the classic energy check. What must you do to continue to collect it in 2023? First of all, be reassured in these cases, “you will not lose the benefit of your energy voucher”, says the government website. Simply apply for pre-assignment, so that your energy check is automatically deducted from your new contract. To do this, you can either:
- Check the “pre-assignment” box on your energy check;
- Fill the online form ;
- Contact assistance by email or by telephone on 0 805 204 805 (free service).
Once your request has been validated, you will receive your energy check again next year.