Power Pass: Over 100,000 applications for the electricity subsidy

Power Pass applications have already exceeded 100,000, according to sources from the Ministry of Digital Government.

By noon the number of applications reached 75,000, while in the first hours yesterday 37,000 applications were made.

THE electricity subsidy platform with the amount up to 600 euros, opened last night at the address vouchers.gov.gr.

Financial assistance concerns first home or student housing electricity bills within Greece, issued during the period from 01-12-2021 until 31-05-2022.

The percentage subsidy amounts to 60% of the increase of the electricity price of the first house and, depending on the amount of the bills, can amount up to the amount of 600 €. The beneficiary of the Power Pass is every citizen who:

• is a tax resident of Greece,
• his net family income after tax deduction does not exceed € 45,000, based on the declared income of the tax year 2020,
• has a VAT number that has not already been declared as a dependent member in an application submitted by another person and
• was charged with a total increase of more than € 30 in the electricity bills issued during the period from 01-12-2021 until 31-05-2022.

The application process will last until June 30. During the first days of its operation, the platform will be gradually opened for the beneficiaries, depending on the last digit of their VAT number.

Vouchers.gov.gr is available for citizens with VAT that expires in 1 and, by the end of next week, the platform will be opened in stages for all beneficiaries and newer announcements will be issued.

The process

The operation of the platform is very simple, as you only need the citizen codes in Taxisnet and the IBAN of the account to which the grant wishes to be credited. All other data are pumped automatically through the Interoperability Center of the General Secretariat of Information Systems of Public Administration. Analytically:

The citizen enters the platform with his codes in Taxisnet and confirms that his details (name, TIN, year of birth) that are displayed are correct.
The citizen is asked to choose whether he wants to apply for himself or for a protected member of his family.
The screen shows the details of the main residence per month (address and supply number). This information the beneficiary can:

• or confirm them,
• or to modify them through the platform “Main Residence Declaration for Power Pass” (https://www1.aade.gr/saadeapps3/powerpass/katoikia), which has been implemented by AADE. The citizen can be transferred to the AADE platform through vouchers.gov.gr, by clicking on the relevant field that appears below the details of first residence. The data declared on the AADE platform are registered immediately. Thus, after the beneficiary fills in the correct details of the first residence, he can return to the Power Pass platform and complete his application.

The fields appear on the same page so that the citizen can fill in his e-mail, the IBAN and the name of the banking institution where his bank account is kept.

By clicking “Submit”, the citizen completes the application process.
For as long as the application platform remains open, a pre-check will be carried out and notifications will be sent to citizens for any corrections (non-existent provision, incorrect account category, etc.). The clearance of applications, the determination of the refund amount and its payment to the beneficiaries will take place during the first ten days of July.

It is clarified that the beneficiaries can apply both for their main residence and for the student housing of protected members studying in Greece. In these cases, the citizen can submit up to three additional applications for protected members, each time following the above steps.

In addition, for those who are required to file a tax return for the first time in fiscal year 2021, it is necessary to file a tax return before applying for a Power Pass. In this case, the net family income, after deduction of taxes, of the tax year 2021 will be taken into account.

14 questions and answers about Power Pass

1. What is a Power Pass?

The Power Pass is a platform announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for the financial support of household electricity consumers. The subsidy concerns the electricity bills of the first residence or student housing within Greece, issued during the period from 01-12-2021 until 31-05-2022 and, depending on the amount of the bills, can amount up to 600 €.

2. Am I entitled to a Power Pass?

You are the beneficiary of the Power Pass for the electricity bills issued for the first residence and the student housing of a protected member studying in Greece if:

• you are a tax resident of Greece,

• your net family income after tax deduction does not exceed € 45,000, based on the declared income of the tax year 2020,

• the VAT number you enter on the platform has not already been declared as a dependent member in an application submitted by another person and

• the increase in electricity bills issued during the period from 01-12-2021 to 31-05-2022 exceeds a total of € 30.

3. How do I apply?

The application is submitted at vouchers.gov.gr.

4. What is the process?

The operation of the platform is very simple. Analytically:

You log in to the platform with your Taxisnet codes and confirm that your details (name, VAT number, year of birth) displayed are correct.
You choose if you wish to apply for yourself or your protected family member.
The screen shows the details of the main residence per month (address and supply number). These details you can:
• either confirm them,

• or modify them through the platform “Main Residence Declaration for Power Pass” which has been implemented by AADE. (more details in the relevant question).

The fields to fill in your e-mail, IBAN and the name of the banking institution where your bank account is kept are also displayed on the same page.
By clicking “Submit”, you complete the application process.
Who can apply for a Power Pass?

The Power Pass application can be submitted by any person stating that a benefit number corresponds to their main residence. Thus, the whole procedure can be done by one / one of the spouses, without the need for a joint or double application from both persons. For statements concerning the first residence of dependent members (more details in the relevant question), the procedure must be done by the person mentioned as guardian.

5. The supply number is in the name of another person. What should I do;

If the supply number is stated in your main residence details in Taxisnet, it does not matter the name to which the supply number is charged in the electricity provider’s registers.

6. What information must I have available to complete the process?

You need to have your Taxisnet passwords for authentication when you log in to the platform and the IBAN of the account to which you want the grant to be credited.

7. Do I need to attach any supporting documents?

No. All data are pumped automatically through the Interoperability Center of the General Secretariat of Information Systems of Public Administration.

8. The details of my main residence displayed on the platform do not correspond to reality. What should I do;

In this case, you will need to go to https://www1.aade.gr/saadeapps3/powerpass/katoikia. You can be transferred to the AADE platform “Main Residence Declaration for Power Pass” through vouchers.gov.gr, by clicking on the relevant field that appears below the details of the first residence. The data that you will declare on the AADE platform are registered immediately. So, after filling in the correct first home details, you can return to the Power Pass platform and complete your application.

9. My child is studying in another city. Is it entitled to a separate Power Pass?

Yes, as long as it is registered as a protected member. In this case, you can submit up to three additional applications for protected members by following the steps above each time.

10. I submit a tax for the first time in the tax year 2021. Am I entitled to the Power Pass?

Yes, it is enough to submit your application before applying for the Power Pass. In this case, the net family income after tax deduction of the tax year 2021 will be taken into account.

11. When does the platform open and until when can I apply?

The application process will last until June 30. During the first days of its operation, the platform will be gradually opened for the beneficiaries, depending on the last digit of their VAT number. From Friday 17-06-2022 vouchers.gov.gr will be available for citizens with VAT that expires at 1 and, until the end of next week, the platform will be opened in stages for all beneficiaries and newer announcements will be issued.

12. Can I apply to the KEP?

At least for the first time, Power Pass applications can only be submitted digitally.

13. How much will I receive through the Power Pass?

The amount you will receive depends on the amount of bills for the period covered by the Power Pass. The subsidy rate amounts to 60% of the increase in the electricity price of the first home. The return is given to those who paid a total electricity increase of six months over € 30 (and therefore will receive at least € 18). The subsidy can not exceed € 600 per consumer.

14. When will the money be credited to my account?

The clearance of applications, the determination of the refund amount and its payment to the beneficiaries will take place during the first ten days of July.