From 2025, the energy check will no longer be distributed automatically. This change in the allocation method could upset current and future beneficiaries, already faced with high energy costs. Who will now have to come forward to receive this essential aid?
Energy check: end of automatic distribution for new beneficiaries
Since its creation in 2018, the energy check was sent automatically in April to eligible households (around 20% of the lowest-income households), identified on the basis of their reference tax income and housing tax. But the gradual elimination of this tax for main residences has changed the situation. From 2025, only certain households will continue to receive the check without any formalities. For others, particularly new beneficiaries, it will be imperative to declare themselves on a dedicated platform. This change aims to better target the aid, but risks increasing the non-take-up rate, already high for other social benefits, such as the RSA (34%) or the minimum old age (50%). In 2024, 1 million eligible people have not received the check to which they were entitled.
Future beneficiaries will have to comply with an online application procedure, including providing proof of address and the electricity delivery point number of their home. This self-declaration obligation aims to limit errors and prevent duplication, as explained by Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister of Ecological Transition. However, for many precarious households, the digitalization of administrative procedures can constitute an obstacle.
Potential impact on low-income households
For many households, stopping the automatic allocation of the energy check could mean a loss of several hundred euros, with a maximum amount reaching €277. These families will have to ensure they meet the tax criteria to benefit from the system. However, the precise terms of allocation remain complex, in particular identification by the point of electrical delivery and tax income. A reform which, despite its good targeting intentions, could leave aside a portion of households in need, already weakened by rising energy costs.
Although the amount of the energy check, oscillating between 48 and 277 euros, does not change, its method of distribution and its award criteria are changing. From now on, the reference tax income and the energy situation of the housing will be decisive. If old beneficiaries still meeting the conditions will automatically receive their aid, new ones will have to be diligent so as not to miss out. The deadline for filing a claim is December 31, 2024.
