The Generalitat pays Endesa the first part of the debt for energy poverty

The Generalitat has authorized this Tuesday the payment of 10.8 million euros to settle the overdue electricity and gas bills of the most vulnerable families in Catalonia that have contracts with Endesa. A measure that EL PERIÓDICO has already revealed and which has become effective today. This money corresponds to half of the bills of 35,000 households living in poverty during the years 2020 and 2019. However, the Generalitat will only pay 3.6 million euros this year, and the rest of the expense will be assumed in the accounts for 2022 and 2023.

The agreement by which Endesa agreed to forgive half of the invoices of vulnerable families was branded as historic. Catalan legislation protects the most vulnerable families, the electricity companies cannot cut them off if the social services rule that they live in social exclusion. But until Endesa signed the agreement with the Government, the company continued to demand the payment of electricity. Some families were even cited in court for defaults. A document, that of taking responsibility for 50% of the payment of electricity for the most vulnerable, which the rest of the companies have not yet assumed.

Related news

The Conselleria d’Empresa i Treball, in the hands of Roger Torrent, announced this Tuesday that it has authorized to make the first payment for the overdue invoices for 2019 and 2020. The debt reaches 21.7 million euros. The Government thus assumes the payment of half of these accounts, 10.8 million euros, although part of this money comes from local administrations: the four provincial councils, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area and the Barcelona City Council. As reported by the ‘conselleria’ in a statement, the 35,000 affected families will receive a letter in the next few days stating that their debt with Endesa is definitely settled.

But the increases in the price of energy, and the social crisis derived from the coronavirus pandemic, have drastically increased the number of families that cannot pay the electricity bill. The Generalitat must continue to pay half of these bills, and some sources from the Government estimate that only in 2021 the costs would have doubled. The agreement with the main electricity company in Catalonia also allows the creation of social meters for electricity to those families who have had to occupy a home out of necessity. The bureaucracy and the costs derived from this management are holding back the progress of this measure. At the moment, only one city council has managed to place six social accountants.