Nowon-gu Supports Electricity and City Gas Usage Fees for Energy-Vulnerable Groups

Differentiated Support by Household Size, Up to 15,000 KRW in Summer, Up to 152,000 KRW in Winter

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) is implementing the ‘Energy Voucher’ program, which provides discounts on electricity, city gas, and district heating fees for vulnerable groups.

The Energy Voucher is a government system that partially supports the costs of electricity, city gas, briquettes, and other energy expenses for energy-vulnerable groups.

The eligible recipients are households receiving livelihood or medical benefits under the National Basic Livelihood Security Act, including ▲elderly (65 years or older, born on or before December 31, 1955) ▲persons with disabilities ▲infants and young children (under 6 years old, born on or after January 1, 2014) ▲pregnant women (currently pregnant or within 6 months postpartum) ▲patients with severe, rare, or intractable diseases ▲single-parent families ▲and child-headed households (including children under foster care).

Support is provided differentially according to the number of household members. For a single-person household, 95,000 KRW (7,000 KRW in summer, 88,000 KRW in winter); for a two-person household, 134,000 KRW (10,000 KRW in summer, 124,000 KRW in winter); and for households with three or more members, 167,000 KRW (15,000 KRW in summer, 152,000 KRW in winter). In summer, only the ‘fee deduction’ method is available, while in winter, recipients can choose between ‘fee deduction’ and the ‘National Happiness Card.’

Applications can be submitted at the local community service center of the resident registration address from May 27 to December 31. For fee deduction, applicants must visit with a recent bill showing the customer number (payer number) for which they want the deduction. For the National Happiness Card, applicants apply at the community service center and then receive and use the card issued by the bank.

Households that received support last year and have no changes in address or household members will be automatically enrolled. If there are changes in the number of household members, reapplication must be made by the 26th.

The summer voucher can be used from July 1 to September 30, and the winter voucher from October 14 to April 30, 2021. Any remaining amount from the summer voucher can be used for the winter voucher.

In anticipation of the surge in electricity usage during summer, the district encourages participation in the ‘Eco Mileage’ program. Eco Mileage checks energy usage such as electricity, water, and city gas every six months and compares it with the previous two years. Depending on the energy saving rate, points are awarded: less than 5-10% savings earn 10,000 points, 10-15% savings earn 30,000 points, and over 15% savings earn 50,000 points, with a maximum of 100,000 points annually. The awarded mileage points can be used to pay local taxes, purchase cultural or traditional market gift certificates, or be converted into cash or card points.

For more details, inquiries can be made by calling the Green Environment Division.

District Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “I hope there will be great interest and active use of the Energy Voucher program to support vulnerable groups struggling with electricity bills in summer and heating costs in winter,” adding, “We will strive to prepare support measures for the heatwave in summer.”

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