It cost more than a thousand euros to heat a 130 square meter home in December.

Sweden announced on Wednesday that it has set aside around 6 billion kroner (590 million euros) for a temporary program to help the Scandinavian country's most vulnerable households deal with high winter electricity bills.

Households with a monthly consumption of more than 2,000 kilowatt hours can receive compensation worth approximately 2,000 kroner (195.5 euros) per month for the three months between December and February. According to the government, this affects around 1.8 million households.

"This is an exceptional measure taken in an exceptional situation. It is unusual to provide such support when prices are fluctuating on the markets"

said Finance Minister Mikkel Damberg.

Sweden's one-party, minority Social Democrat government is expected to receive majority support for the plan in the 349-member parliament.

Swedish homeowners have been trying to reduce consumption in various ways for some time:

they turn off the heating, lock rooms, use alternative heat sources such as wood burning, and wear thick woolen socks in their homes.

"It's a maddening situation," says Hannah Hall, who lives in an old wooden house in Kristinehamn, a small town in central Sweden. "I knew it would be an expensive winter, but this is unprecedented," he added. Hall was billed 10,400 kroner (1,016 euros) for his electricity consumption in December, about three times the previous year's price, to heat his 130 square meter home.

Electricity prices in Sweden rose astronomically as low temperatures in the cold Scandinavian winter boosted demand and gas prices continued to rise in Europe.

According to data from the Swedish Energy Market Authority, in the southern half of the country, where the vast majority of Swedes live,

the electricity cost of an average apartment increased by 266% year-on-year in December,

while the average house with electric heating saw an average cost jump of 361% over the same period.

In December, neighboring Norway also announced that households that consume up to 5,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month can receive subsidies. The move will cost the country around 5 billion crowns (500 million euros).

"We focus on helping as many people as possible"

Norwegian Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said in December. "We hope these measures will provide some respite."

Source: mandiner.hu

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