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The prohibition to cut, during the first half of 2021, essential services such as water, electricity or natural gas was unanimously approved this Tuesday in the specialty of the State Budgets for 2021, at the proposal of the PS.
The amendment was presented by the PS and deserved a rare unanimity of the deputies in the Budget and Finance Committee, which today is in the third voting marathon of the specialty of State Budgets for 2021 (OE2021).
Thus, according to the approved text, “during the first semester of 2021 the suspension is not allowed” of essential services such as the supply of water, electricity, natural gas and electronic communications.
Suspension of the electronic communications service is prohibited only “when it is motivated by unemployment, a drop in household income equal to or greater than 20%, or by infection by covid-19”.
During the first half of 2021, consumers who are unemployed or have a drop in household income of 20% or more compared to the previous month’s income may require the “unilateral termination of telecommunications contracts, without compensation to the provider” and “the temporary suspension of telecommunications contracts, without penalties or additional clauses for the consumer.”
In the case of the amounts owed, according to the approved proposal, “a payment plan must be drawn up within a reasonable time to the current income of the consumer”, which must be “defined by agreement between the supplier and the customer.”
In the context of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government had already published a law in April suspending cuts in essential services, which was extended until September.
“Given the evolution of the pandemic, economic and social situation, it is urgent to renew this guarantee of access during the year 2021, maintaining the universe of beneficiaries, and also allowing to restore the provision of services at no cost to the consumer, verified assumptions such as maintenance of a situation of economic fragility or agreement for a payment plan of any amount owed to the provider in question ”, underlines the PS parliamentary group in the explanatory statement.
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