The Saeima1 has adopted and
the President has proclaimed the following law:
Law on the
State Aid for Energy Supply Costs
Chapter I
General Provisions
Section 1. Terms Used in the Law
The terms used in this Law correspond to the terms used in the
Electricity Market Law and the Energy Law unless it has been laid
down otherwise in this Law.
Section 2. Purpose and Scope of the
Application of the Law
(1) The purpose of this Law is to mitigate the negative
socio-economic impact related to the increase in energy resource
prices on the welfare of low-income and moderately low-income
households.
(2) The Law prescribes the State aid (hereinafter - the aid)
measures that mitigate the negative impact caused by the
exceptional increase in energy resource prices on low-income and
moderately low-income households and the conditions by which the
aid for the reduction of payments for such consumed energy
resources is applied to such households:
1) for the consumed natural gas which is used for the
generation of thermal energy during the calendar months for which
the aid is applied - during the heating season from 1 October to
30 April of the current year;
2) for the consumed thermal energy during the heating season
from 1 October to 30 April of the current year;
3) for the consumed electricity which is used for the
generation of thermal energy during the calendar months for which
the aid is applied - during the heating season from 1 October to
30 April of the current year;
4) for the consumed electricity during the calendar months for
which the aid is applied - for the first consumed 100 kilowatt
hours per month over the entire calendar year;
5) for the consumed wood pellets, wood briquettes, firewood,
liquefied petroleum gas, and diesel fuel (hereinafter - the
decentralised fuel) from 1 October to 30 April of the current
year.
(3) The Cabinet shall decide on the period during which the
aid for the reduction of payments is to be applied for the
consumed energy resources referred to in Paragraph two of this
Section.
(4) The Law determines the scope of information to be included
in the information system for the compensation for the energy
resource costs (hereinafter - the information system), the
procedures by which the persons and authorities referred to in
this Law shall ensure circulation of such information, and also
provisions for data processing.
Section 3. Target Group of the Law
and Procedures for Determination Thereof
(1) Within the meaning of this Law, a household is persons
declared and registered at one address in the Republic of Latvia
and also Ukrainian civilians who have been granted the status of
temporary protection in the Republic of Latvia with the address
of the place of residence indicated at this address.
(2) The target group of this Law is low-income and moderately
low-income households, i.e. households whose monthly income per
one member of the household and the total monthly expenditure for
housing per one member of the household correspond to the amount
specified by the Cabinet for receiving the aid for the reduction
of payments for the consumed energy resources referred to in
Section 2, Paragraph two of this Law.
(3) The aid specified in Section 2, Paragraph two of this Law
shall not be granted to persons subject to international or
national sanctions or significant sanctions affecting financial
market interests imposed by a European Union Member State or a
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member country.
(4) The Cabinet shall determine what constitutes the total
expenditure for housing of the household referred to in Paragraph
two of this Section and also the conditions and procedures for
calculating such expenditure, and the procedures for identifying
the households belonging to the target group of this Law which
are entitled to receive the aid for the reduction of payments for
the consumed energy resources referred to in Section 2, Paragraph
two of this Law.
Section 4. Obligations of the
Persons and Authorities Involved in the Application of the Aid
and Rights Thereof to the Compensation
(1) Energy supply merchants (electricity traders, natural gas
traders, and centralised heating supply service providers) have
the obligation to apply the aid to a low-income or moderately
low-income household for the reduction of payments for the
consumed energy resources referred to in Section 2, Paragraph
two, Clauses 1, 2, and 4 of this Law.
(2) The local government within whose administrative territory
a low-income or moderately low-income household is located shall
be delegated the task of State administration to apply the aid to
this household for the reduction of payments for the consumed
energy resources referred to in Section 2, Paragraph two, Clauses
3 and 5 of this Law.
(3) The administrator performing administrative activities in
an apartment residential house with households or a residential
house owner renting out the residential house to a household, or
an owner of a group of residential premises renting out the group
of residential premises to a household has the obligation to
apply the aid to a low-income or moderately low-income household
for the reduction of payments in invoices thereof to the extent
it is granted for the consumed energy resources referred to in
Section 2, Paragraph two, Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this Law.
(4) The State shall compensate energy supply merchants and
local governments for the total amount of the aid that the energy
supply merchants and local governments have applied to low-income
and moderately low-income households during the respective
period.
(5) The State shall compensate local governments for the
administrative costs of examining each submission requesting the
aid laid down by law.
Section 5. Conditions for Receiving
the Aid and Competence of the Cabinet
(1) A low-income or moderately low-income household that has
an electricity, natural gas, or heating connection and has
entered into a trade of electricity contract, a trade of natural
gas contract, or a heating supply contract at the address of its
place of residence is entitled to receive the aid for the
reduction of payments for the consumed electricity, including
electricity used for the generation of thermal energy, natural
gas, and thermal energy.
(2) A low-income or moderately low-income household that uses
equipment operated by decentralised fuel for the generation of
thermal energy in its housing is entitled to receive the aid for
the reduction of payments for the consumed decentralised
fuel.
(3) The Cabinet shall determine the following:
1) the conditions by which the aid is to be provided to
households for the reduction of payments for the consumed energy
resources referred to in Section 2, Paragraph two of this Law,
the amount of the aid to be provided, and also the procedures for
financing and supervising the aid;
2) the conditions and procedures for compensating energy
supply merchants for the aid applied to households for the
reduction of payments for the consumed energy resources referred
to in Section 2, Paragraph two, Clauses 1, 2, and 4 of this Law
and the procedures for supervising the disbursed
compensation;
3) the conditions and procedures for compensating a local
government for the aid applied to households for the reduction of
payments for the consumed energy resources referred to in Section
2, Paragraph two, Clauses 3 and 5 of this Law and the procedures
for supervising the disbursed compensation;
4) the conditions and procedures by which an electricity
trader and a natural gas trader apply the aid to a household
customer and also to a customer whose object is an apartment
residential house with households if the household user or the
user whose object is an apartment house with households receives
the service of supply of last resort.
Chapter
II
Circulation of Information and Provisions for Data Processing in
the Information System
Section 6. Evaluation of Conformity
of Households
(1) The information system the maintenance and management
functions of which are performed by the State Construction
Control Bureau (hereinafter - the Bureau) shall, within the scope
of the calendar month, determine the conformity of households to
the target group referred to in Section 3, Paragraph two of this
Law. The information system shall process and record data of all
the natural persons referred to in Section 3, Paragraph one of
this Law.
(2) The Bureau shall not verify in other data registers the
data of the register managers referred to in Section 7, Paragraph
eight of this Law which are submitted to the information
system.
(3) The accuracy of the calculation made by the information
system in accordance with Paragraph one of this Section and the
resulting conformity of households to the target group referred
to in Section 3, Paragraph two of this Law can be contested by a
household member in the Bureau and appealed to an administrative
court in accordance with the procedures laid down in the
Administrative Procedure Law.
(4) A household member can verify the accuracy of the personal
data in the information system transferred by data controllers
and referred to in Section 7, Paragraph eight, Clauses 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, and 6 of this Law by submitting a submission to the
respective data controller.
Section 7. Transmission and Exchange
of Data in the Information System
(1) The Bureau shall process in the information system the
identification data of the natural persons referred to in Section
3, Paragraph one of this Law, the income data, and the data on
the address of the place of residence of the natural person in
order to calculate the average household income per one member of
the household and identify the addresses in the Republic of
Latvia where households are eligible for the aid specified in
Section 2, Paragraph two of this Law.
(2) The Bureau shall process in the information system the
data of the electricity distribution system operator who is the
administrator of the data exchange platform of the unified
electricity distribution system operators (hereinafter - the
electricity distribution system operator), the data from the
natural gas distribution system operator and heating supply
merchants on electricity and natural gas traders and addresses
where there are electricity, natural gas, and centralised heating
connections in order to identify the addresses in the Republic of
Latvia where households are eligible for the aid specified in
Section 2, Paragraph two of this Law and receive electricity
trade, natural gas trade, or centralised heating service.
(3) The electricity distribution system operator and the
natural gas distribution system operator shall receive from the
information system and process the addresses in the Republic of
Latvia that are under management of the respective operator where
there is an electricity or natural gas connection with the
identifier addresses where the households specified in Section 3,
Paragraph two of this Law are identified in order to inform the
electricity and natural gas traders of the households which are
to be granted the aid referred to in Section 2, Paragraph two,
Clauses 1 and 4 of this Law.
(4) The heating supply merchants shall receive from the
information system and process the addresses in the Republic of
Latvia where there is a heating connection with the identifier
addresses where the households specified in Section 3, Paragraph
two of this Law are identified in order to grant the aid referred
to in Section 2, Paragraph two, Clause 2 of this Law.
(5) The electricity and natural gas traders shall receive from
the electricity distribution system operator and the natural gas
distribution system operator and process the addresses in the
Republic of Latvia where there are electricity and natural gas
connections with the identifier addresses where the households
specified in Section 3, Paragraph two of this Law are identified
in order to grant the aid referred to in Section 2, Paragraph
two, Clauses 1 and 4 of this Law.
(6) The local governments shall receive from the information
system and process the addresses located within the
administrative territory of the relevant local government with
the identifier addresses where the households specified in
Section 3, Paragraph two of this Law are identified in order to
grant the aid referred to in Section 2, Paragraph two, Clauses 3
and 5 of this Law.
(7) The Bureau shall receive from the information system and
process the identification data of all the natural persons
referred to in Section 3, Paragraph one of this Law, the income
data, and the data on the address of the place of residence of
the natural person in order to provide the natural person with
information on the conformity of the household of the relevant
natural person to the conditions referred to in Section 3,
Paragraph two of this Law.
(8) In order to calculate the average household income per one
member of the household and identify the addresses in the
Republic of Latvia where households are eligible for the aid
specified in Section 2, Paragraph two of this Law, the Bureau
shall receive from the specified managers the following
information in the information system on the natural person
referred to in Section 3, Paragraph two of this Law:
1) from the State Revenue Service - the identification data of
the natural person and information on his or her income;
2) from the State Social Insurance Agency - the identification
data of the natural person and information on the benefits and
pensions disbursed to this person;
3) from the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs - the
identification data of the natural person and the data on the
address of the place of residence of this person;
4) from the electricity distribution system operator - the
data on the addresses where there is an electricity
connection;
5) from the natural gas distribution system operator - the
data on the addresses where there is a natural gas
connection;
6) from the heating supply merchant - the data on the
addresses where there is a heating connection.
(9) The Cabinet shall determine the information to be included
in the information system, the scope thereof, the processing
regulations, the storage periods, and the access regulations, and
also the conditions and procedures for storing, disclosing, and
providing audit trails of the information system.
(10) Each data processing activity shall be audited in the
information system. The audit trails shall be stored for 24
months, ensuring limited access thereto.
(11) The data of the natural persons referred to in Section 6,
Paragraph one of this Law and accumulated in the information
system shall be stored for 24 months and then deleted.
Transitional
Provisions
1. The funding necessary for the development and maintenance
of the information system referred to in Section 2, Paragraph
four of this Law and also for the measures for the aid provided
for in Section 2, Paragraph two of this Law shall be provided in
2023 from the funds allocated in the law On the State Budget for
2023 and Budget Framework for 2023, 2024, and 2025 in the
programme 15.00.00 "Funds for the Implementation of Fixed-term
Aid Measures Specified in the Law on Measures for the Reduction
of Exceptional Increase in Energy Resource Prices" of the budget
unit "74. Financing to Be Reallocated During the Implementation
Process of the Annual State Budget".
2. The State Construction Control Bureau shall, until 31
December 2024, ensure the right of household customers to refuse
further processing of their personal data in the information
system and the opportunity to apply for receiving the aid if the
person does not wish it.
The Law shall come into force on the day following its
proclamation.
The Law has been adopted by the Saeima on 23 November
2023.
President E. Rinkēvičs
Rīga, 7 December 2023
1The Parliament of the Republic of
Latvia
Translation © 2024 Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre)
