Lowering the threshold for energy welfare: Guide to applying for energy vouchers in 2026 > News

Energy voucher is a core welfare system that selects households that are vulnerable to energy use among basic livelihood security recipients and supports the purchase of cooling and heating bills. Those eligible for support are households that meet certain conditions, such as those receiving basic livelihood assistance and at the same time the elderly, infants, the disabled, pregnant women, people with serious, rare, or incurable diseases, single-parent families, and families with boys and girls. Starting this year, the scope of support has been expanded to include households with multiple children, and depending on the number of household members, the support is differentiated from a minimum of 295,200 won to a maximum of 701,300 won. Households that already received voucher support last year and whose eligibility requirements have not changed will be automatically registered without a separate application process, so it is wise to first check whether they maintain their eligibility.

The biggest change in this project is the dramatic improvement in digital accessibility. To eliminate the inconvenience of having to visit the Administrative Welfare Center one by one in the past, you can now easily apply with simple authentication, financial certificate, and joint certificate through the ‘Bokjiro’ website. It is very encouraging that the service, where postal deliverymen and social workers visit and provide guidance for households that are not used to applying online, has been significantly expanded to 122,000 households. In addition, the efforts of Korea Energy Agency and local governments to proactively identify at-risk households through cooperation clearly demonstrate the government's will to implement welfare without blind spots.

The method of operating subsidies has also become more flexible. In the past, the winter and summer usage periods were strictly separated, but now you can freely use the subsidy at any time within the usage period. It is now possible to carry over cooling costs in the summer and use them as winter heating costs instead of using them. However, to do this, you must apply for a summer non-deduction. It is also worth noting that you can choose an efficient method that suits your household's situation between automatically deducting the fee from the bill and paying directly through the National Happiness Card.

The ‘Advance Exception Payment’ system and ‘Support for Briquette Conversion’ will also be newly implemented to fill in blind spots in the policy. Households that have difficulty paying their bills directly, such as those whose electricity bills are included in their monthly rent or those who use central heating, have now been able to receive vouchers in cash. However, in this case, you must keep in mind that you must prepare a separate living expenses account rather than a seizure prevention account. In addition, the policy of supporting fuel purchase costs for households replacing briquette boilers with regular boilers is expected to receive a great response in line with the trends of the times of carbon neutrality and energy efficiency.