Sweden to help with heat payments
STOCKHOLM – Sweden announced Wednesday it had earmarked some $661 million for a temporary plan to help the most affected households across the Scandinavian country cope with high electricity bills this winter.
Households consuming more than 2,000 kilowatt-hours per month can get compensation worth about $220 per month for the three months December-february. Some 1.8 million households are affected, the government said.
“This is an exceptional measure in an exceptional situation; it is unusual to go in with support when prices fluctuate in markets,” said Finance Minister Mikkel Damberg.
Sweden’s one-party, minority Social Democratic government is expected to get majority backing for the plan in the 349-seat Riksdag.
Homeowners in Sweden have been adopting strategies to lower their consumption, such as turning down the heat.
“It’s a crazy situation to be in,” said Hannah Hall, who lives in an old wooden house in Kristinehamn, a small town in central Sweden. “I was aware it would be an expensive winter, but it feels unprecedented.”