Electricity Bill Relief / KBS뉴스(News)

Описание: [Anchor Lead]
The government will temporarily ease the progressive electricity rate applied to households for July and August amid this summer's heat wave. The government has also announced measures to offer discounts in power charges for households especially vulnerable to the hot weather such as those with infants under 3 years old.
[Pkg]
Measures to lower electricity charges for the summer months have been finalized just a day after the president gave the order while urging officials to view air conditioning as a basic right to welfare. The government and ruling party have decided to temporarily ease the progressive rate billing system applied to households for July and August. Each section in the multistage progressive rate scheme will be raised by 100 kilowatt hours to allow lower unit prices for more households. For instance, a family using an average 254 kilowatt hours of energy, which is
the national average, will be subject to the first stage unit price, and not the second, for the two summer months.

[Soundbite] Kim Tae-nyeon (Chief policymaker, Democratic Party) : "People should not be discouraged from using air conditioning in this sweltering heat just because of concerns over the bills."
Measures will also seek to help the socially vulnerable beat sizzling temperatures. Recipients of basic living stipends as well as large families with many children or disabled households will receive an additional 30% discount in their electricity bills for July and August. Maternity discounts that benefited infants under 12 months will be expanded to include families with babies under 36 months of age. The government will also continue discussions on revising the incremental billing system which only applies to households in Korea. The government will dip into reserve funds to finance over 300 billion won required for the latest measures, and will speed up related procedures.