Pohang City Opens Applications for Energy Vouchers for Vulnerable Groups... Support for Heating and Cooling Costs

The photo shows Mayor Lee Gang-deok of Pohang giving a briefing.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Pohang City, Gyeongsangbuk-do announced on the 25th that from the 27th until the end of December, applications for the 'Energy Voucher Project' supporting energy costs for vulnerable groups will be accepted at the administrative welfare centers of the resident registration addresses' eup, myeon, and dong.

First introduced in 2015, the 'Energy Voucher System' initially supported only winter energy costs for low-income households, but since 2019, it has been expanded and operated to include summer support for low-income households struggling with heatwaves. The summer voucher is provided as a discount on electricity bills, while the winter voucher supports heating costs such as electricity, city gas, and district heating, or can be used via the National Happiness Card.

Eligible applicants are households that meet both income criteria and household member characteristic criteria. Those receiving livelihood or medical benefits under the National Basic Livelihood Security Act, where the applicant or a household member is an elderly person (born before the end of December 1955), an infant or toddler (born after January 1, 2014), a person with disabilities, a pregnant woman, a patient with a severe illness, a single-parent family, or a child-headed household, can apply.

The support amount has increased slightly compared to last year. Depending on the number of household members, a single-person household receives a summer voucher of 7,000 KRW and a winter voucher of 88,000 KRW. Households with 2 to 4 members receive a summer voucher ranging from 10,000 to 15,000 KRW and a winter voucher ranging from 124,000 to 152,000 KRW. The summer voucher can be used from July 1 to the end of September, and the winter voucher from October 14 to the end of April next year. Any remaining balance on the summer voucher can be carried over and used as a winter voucher.

For more details, please check the Energy Voucher website.

A Pohang City official stated, "We will strive to ensure that the energy-vulnerable groups can spend the summer cool and the winter warm through monitoring of the issued beneficiaries."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.