The Norwegian government will provide almost NOK 3,000 in extra housing support to people living in the parts of the country where electricity is most expensive.
The support comes in the form of an extraordinary payment in November and is intended as a helping hand to households with high electricity bills and low incomes.
The government will present the proposal in the form of a proposition to the Norwegian parliament (Storting) as early as Friday.
“Worked as fast as we can”
“We have worked as fast as we can on this and believe that the Storting is also prepared to deal with it quickly. We are now planning an extra housing benefit payment in November. That is the fastest thing we can do,” Minister of Local Government and Districts Bjørn Arild Gram (SP) told NTB.
He estimates that around 66,000 households will receive extra money with the government’s proposal, corresponding to around five out of six housing benefit recipients. NOK 202 million has been set aside for the purpose, Gram stated.
Additional payment
On Monday and Tuesday this week, a price record was set for electricity. Prices have been particularly high in the areas south of the Sognefjord and Dovrefjell, and less so in Central and Northern Norway.
The government proposal directs the extra payment to households in the following counties: Vestland, Rogaland, Agder, Vestfold and Telemark, Innlandet, Oslo and Viken, as well as Røros Municipality in Trøndelag.
Each household is set to receive an extra NOK 2,950. Households with more than one person receive an additional NOK 120 for each additional person.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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