The Romanian Post Office announced on Wednesday that it has started delivering energy cards to vulnerable people in Bucharest and 6 counties, stressing that the cards will be gradually distributed to all counties in the country by the end of this month.

During February, more than 10,000 postmen will reach 2.8 million homes to distribute heating aid. Today they started delivery in Bucharest and in 6 counties: Alba (37,000), Arges (53,000), Bacău (52,000), Bihor (58,000), Ilfov (29,000) and Teleorman (27,000), respectively, in more than 360,000 houses. 106,000 cards were distributed in the capital.

• “There are almost 4 million beneficiaries who will receive these cards by the end of February, but the distribution will be gradual. By February 20, when we will be able to pay the heating allowance, as many Romanians as possible should already receive the cards.
• I urge all beneficiaries to be patient and rest assured that they will receive these cards on the announced date as listed, each according to the distribution schedule.” said Marcel Bolosh, Minister of Investments and European Projects.

After receiving the cards, beneficiaries will be able to use the assistance to pay their electricity bills in the following ways:

• directly to the postman;
• at any post office in an urban area or at a post office within the radius of which the beneficiary lives in a rural area;
• online through an IT application provided by Romanian Post.

“We are supporting Romanians and offering them the opportunity to pay for utility services online through an IT application available through Romanian Post. In this sense, we will have a special menu on the Post website where card beneficiaries can fill in their personal details, upload the necessary documents (identity card, energy card and utility bill) and then send the information to us. We will then process the payment through our computer systems.” said Valentyn Stefan, Interim Director General of the Romanian Post Office.

For any specific questions regarding payment of heating allowance, Poșta Română has opened a specialized call center for this issue. The telephone number on which beneficiaries can obtain information from the Company’s employees is 031 9966, from Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 20:00.

Payment of electricity bills and debts of the vulnerable population, beneficiaries of the 1,400 lei aid, will also be able to be done online through the IT application of the Romanian Post, after the government passed a decree on this on Tuesday.

When and how payments for electricity will be made

We remind you that assistance in the amount of 1,400 lei (in two parts: February and September 2023) is provided at the place of consumption and after calculating the acceptable income, which must be less than 2,000 lei. So, in households with several residents, the incomes of all co-residents are added up and divided by their number, and the resulting amount must be less than 2,000 lei inclusive.

The authorities are now checking the lists of law enforcement officers – about 4 million possible beneficiaries – in terms of the income of each household member by interrogating the databases of the Ministry of Labor, Population Registration and ANAF, so the authorities are now discovering chaos in government databases.

The situation should be clarified by February 15, when MIPE will deliver the money to the Romanian Post Office, Minister Marcel Bolosh said last week.