A new programme will compensate households that heat with natural gas, energy minister Iva Petrova told parliament's energy committee. She said no such scheme has existed until now.
"We have set aside €10m to pay compensation to households from November to March, when bills are higher," Petrova said.
The background: Government sets aside €2bn due to expensive electricity for industry, business and households
The programme is part of a €2bn package for electricity and gas. Deputy prime minister Alexander Pulev and Petrova announced the package yesterday after talks with employers' groups and trade unions.
Petrova repeated that the price of district heating will stay unchanged until the end of the regulatory period. She said electricity and gas prices go up and down, and the compensation guarantees electricity prices for people and partly protects them from these swings.
Users other than households will also get help. Firms that use a lot of electricity will be able to cover up to 70% of their power costs with state aid, instead of up to 50%. The measure has been notified to the European Commission.