Household Benefits Package
The Electricity, Natural Gas Allowance, Group Account Allowance, Bottled Gas Refill Allowance, Telephone Allowance and Free Television Licence are grouped together as a Household Benefits Package with a single application form and one set of qualifying conditions.
Electricity Allowance
This allowance covers:
• normal standing charges,
and
• up to 2,400 units of electricity each year. This is equal to
400 units of electricity in each two-monthly billing period throughout the year.
Once we approve your application, your next ESB bill or the one after will include the allowance and any backdated credit you are owed.
If you have a Nightsaver meter in your home, your unused free electricity units will reduce the cost of electricity in your Nightsaver account.
Note that the allowance does not cover the cost of installingan electricity supply in your home.
For more details, see information booklet SW 107.
Note
Getting one of these payments won’t stop you getting Fuel Allowance if you are entitled to it.
Natural Gas Allowance
If your home is connected to a natural gas supply, you can get this allowance instead of Electricity Allowance.
The allowance is applied to your natural gas account from the start of the two-monthly billing period that begins after we approve your application.
The allowance covers the standing charge and
• kilo watt hours up to €48.50 in the summer billing periods,
or
• kilo watt hours up to €106.50 in the winter billing periods.
The total value of the allowance is €465 a year.
Checklist for pensioners
For more details, see information booklet SW 107.
Group Account Allowance
You may qualify for a Group Account Allowance if you live in self-contained accommodation (a flat or an apartment) and have a slot meter or if the registered consumer of gas or electricity at your address is a landlord.
How the Group Account Allowance works
The allowance is paid monthly to your account in a financial institution or, if you have a social services card, at your post office.
Bottled Gas Refill Allowance
You may qualify for Bottled Gas Refill Allowance if you would normally qualify for Electricity or Natural Gas Allowance, but:
• your house is not connected to an electricity supply,
or
• you use natural gas from a source other than the national natural gas network.
How the Bottled Gas Refill Allowance works
The allowance is paid monthly to your account in a financial institution or, if you have a social services card, at your post office.
The allowance does not cover the cost of buying or hiring empty cylinders or delivering cylinders of gas.
For more details, see information booklet SW 107.
Free Television Licence
If you get the Household Benefits Package, you will qualify for a free television licence from the next renewal date of your current paid television licence.
For more details, see information booklet SW 107.
Telephone Allowance
The Telephone Allowance is a contribution towards your telephone bill.
You may qualify for a Telephone Allowance for a landline phone or a mobile phone.
If you choose a landline phone, the allowance will be paid as a credit on your telephone bill.
If you choose a mobile phone, the allowance is paid monthly to your account in a financial institution or, if you have a social services card, at your post office.
The value of the allowance is €25.90 each month.
The allowance does not cover the cost of installing a phone or buying a mobile phone.
Note
You may qualify for the Telephone Allowance if you are aged 70 or over and live in a nursing home.
For more details, see information booklet SW 107.