Social bonus for electricity and gas supply
The electricity economic bonus, gas economic bonus, and electricity physical hardship bonus are measures introduced by national legislation, implemented through provisions of the ARERA Authority, aimed at reducing the costs incurred for the supply of electricity and natural gas for households experiencing economic or physical hardship.
The bonus amount is deducted directly from the electricity bill, divided across the invoices for 12 months. Each bill shows a portion of the bonus, calculated based on the period to which it refers. The amount is shown under the item “Social Bonus.”
Social bonus for economic hardship
The social bonus for economic hardship is a discount automatically applied to electricity and gas bills for households that have an ISEE certification below the threshold.
Effective January 1, 2026, ARERA Resolution 2/2026/R/com of January 20, 2026 has updated the ISEE threshold values for access to electricity, gas (water and waste) social bonuses.
To access the bonus for economic hardship, one of the members of the ISEE household must be the account holder of an electricity or gas active supply contract (supplies temporarily suspended for non-payment are also considered active) with a tariff for domestic use (i.e., supplying premises used as family residences); furthermore, they must belong to one of the following categories:
- household with an ISEE indicator not exceeding 9,796 euros for families with a maximum of 3 dependent children;
- household with at least 4 dependent children (large family) and ISEE indicator not exceeding 20,000 euros.
Each household is entitled, for the relevant year, to only one economic hardship bonus for each type of supply (electricity, gas).
The first step to obtain the bonus is to submit the Substitute Declaration (DSU) at a CAF or at INPS and obtain an ISEE certification.
If the ISEE value is below the threshold established by legislation and the household’s supplies meet the eligibility requirements verified by the SII (Integrated Information System – the database containing information relating to electricity and gas supplies and customer data to whom the supply contract is registered, such as the tax code), the bonus is granted for 12 months.
Each year the household must submit a new DSU to obtain the bonus again for the following 12 months.
Each household is entitled to one economic hardship bonus for electricity supply and one for gas supply, if the eligibility requirements are met.
The economic hardship bonus is granted to supplies in the year of validity of the ISEE certification, for 12 months.
Each year, in the presence of an ISEE certification below the threshold, the household is included in the automatic procedure.
The household may also be entitled to the electricity social bonus for physical hardship if a seriously ill person who requires electro-medical equipment for life support lives in the residence.
Electricity bonus for physical hardship
The electricity bonus for physical hardship is a measure aimed at reducing the costs incurred for the supply of electricity by households in which there is a member experiencing physical hardship. It was introduced by national legislation and subsequently implemented through regulatory provisions of the Authority.
All domestic customers suffering from serious illness or domestic customers with an electricity supply at whose residence a person suffering from serious illness lives, requiring the use of electro-medical equipment for life support, may obtain the bonus.
The life-saving electro-medical equipment that entitles one to the bonus was identified by the Decree of the Ministry of Health of January 13, 2011.
Further information is available on the ARERA website page dedicated to Social Bonuses https://www.arera.it/consumatori/bonus-sociale.