Eligible households in Israel can receive a 50% electricity discount on the value of up to 400 kWh of domestic consumption each month. The responsible benefits authority must recognize your eligibility, and the electricity account must match the eligible person’s details. The benefit also continues with a private electricity supplier. Age, low income or a disability diagnosis alone does not establish eligibility.
The benefit is often described as הנחה בחשמל (hanacha bechashmal, electricity discount). Before including it in a household retirement budget, check the award, the account and the bill. The steps below explain how these records connect and who can correct a missing credit.
Who should check eligibility?
| Benefit or status | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Old-age pension with a qualifying supplement | National Insurance lists old-age pension with income supplement and old-age pension with a disability supplement. An ordinary pension or senior card alone does not establish electricity eligibility. Check the National Insurance senior-benefits leaflet. |
| Long-term care benefit | The listed groups are care level 5 or 6, or level 4 from age 90. The care-benefit guidance also includes people whose award at a qualifying level was reduced because of income. |
| Special-services allowance | The current National Insurance electricity entry lists recipients of the special-services allowance, שירותים מיוחדים (sherutim meyuchadim). Do not apply a minimum rate taken from an older guide or from a different benefit such as rent assistance. |
| A child receiving disability benefit | The child-benefit electricity route covers parents of children whose award is based on dependence on another person’s help or specified special medical treatment. National Insurance expressly says that not every child-disability award qualifies and sends notice to eligible families. |
| Income support or income supplement | The family route includes a single parent with at least 3 children or another family with at least 4 children, receiving the specified allowance. National Insurance also lists an age-based route for women receiving income support. Ask it to confirm the applicable category and dates. |
| Maintenance paid by National Insurance | The National Insurance maintenance route lists recipients who are single parents with at least 3 children, or who are not single parents and have at least 4 children. Ask National Insurance which children count and whether the other conditions are met. Private maintenance payments alone do not establish this route. |
| Recognized IDF or security-forces disability | The Rehabilitation Division lists recognized disability of at least 50%, or receipt of its qualifying loss-of-earning-capacity or early-retirement compensation even below that disability level. Confirm the specific award with the Division. |
| Recognized hostile-action disability | The National Insurance route lists disability of at least 50%, or its permanent subsistence payments, defined there as payments for at least 3 years. National Insurance handles this eligibility record; it is separate from the Defense Ministry veteran route. |
| Holocaust survivor compensation | The Holocaust Survivors’ Rights Authority lists recipients of its income-based or increased income-based compensation. Survivor status by itself does not establish that particular route. Ask the Authority which electricity category appears on your current award. |
These are selected routes, not an individual eligibility decision or an exhaustive list. Use the authority’s current notice and the supplier’s matching account record. Official guidance checked on 2 November 2026, Israel time.
If you receive a survivor pension, recently changed benefits, or have approved military housing assistance, ask the responsible authority whether your current category is included in the electricity list. National Insurance, the Holocaust Survivors’ Rights Authority, the IDF and the Defense Ministry determine their respective categories. The electricity supplier cannot add someone to an authority’s list simply because the household’s expenses are high.
What does the discount cover?
The Israel Electric Corporation’s explanation applies the reduction to eligible consumption at the domestic tariff in force during the consumption period. It is not a fixed monthly cash grant. Your saving depends on the electricity used, the covered period and that tariff.
Check the consumption dates and eligible quantity on the bill. Do not halve the entire invoice: consumption above the allowance and charges outside eligible consumption are not covered by this calculation. If the invoice spans more than a month, ask the supplier how the monthly allowance was applied to that actual billing period. A shekel estimate from an earlier tariff is not a current entitlement figure.
Match the eligibility notice to the electricity account
- Confirm the award. Find the benefits authority’s electricity-eligibility notice and its start date. A general disability or pension letter may not establish this separate benefit.
- Check the account. Compare the registered name and identity number with the eligibility record, and confirm that the account uses a domestic tariff. If you have just moved, follow the utility account-transfer steps and ask how the discount will move to the correct account.
- Check the credit. Compare the latest bill with the eligibility start date and the supplier’s response. Keep the relevant bills, notice and enquiry reference until the issue is resolved.
For a child’s entitlement, ask which parent’s account details the authority supplied. When a child moves to an adult benefit, confirm the new eligibility route, dates and account match. Do not assume that the old benefit category or billing arrangement carries over unchanged.
If the electricity discount is missing
| What you find | Next step |
|---|---|
| No electricity-eligibility notice | Ask the benefits authority whether your award meets an electricity category and whether it sent your details. The supplier cannot decide benefit eligibility. |
| Notice received, account details differ | Ask the supplier to reconcile the name, identity number, domestic tariff and account. For an IEC account, contact 103; for a private account, contact that supplier. |
| Matching details, credit still absent | Give the supplier the notice, eligibility start date and affected bill periods. Ask it to check the eligibility list and explain any correction. Obtain a written response or reference. |
| More than one account or eligible resident | Ask the supplier how the benefit is allocated to the qualifying domestic account. Do not multiply the allowance across accounts or residents without confirmation. |
| A retirement residence, hostel or kibbutz bills you through a submeter | Ask the accommodation manager to arrange the benefit with the electricity supplier and show how it reaches your individual consumption bill. |
Account matching and communal-housing guidance: Israel Electric Corporation. Private-supplier discounts: National Insurance. A billing correction depends on the applicable eligibility dates and records.
Ask specifically about earlier affected bills, but keep backdated benefit approval and electricity-bill correction separate. A late pension or allowance payment does not by itself show that every related electricity credit has been applied. Keep paying attention to the bill’s due date while an enquiry is open; ask the supplier directly about any disputed-payment arrangement.
Does switching to a private supplier affect the benefit?
National Insurance guidance says eligible customers can continue receiving the social electricity discount through a private supplier. It says suppliers receive a credit from Noga and apply the discount to eligible customers.
If the credit is missing, ask your supplier to check the eligibility record and explain the bill. Keep the notice from the benefits authority and the bills for the affected period. Ask the supplier how its separate commercial plan and the social discount appear on your bill.
Sources
- Israel Electric Corporation: discount and account guidance.
- National Insurance: long-term care and electricity discounts.
- National Insurance: benefits for children with disabilities.
- National Insurance: special-services allowance.
- National Insurance: income support.
- National Insurance: maintenance payments.
- National Insurance: hostile-action injuries.
- Defense Ministry Rehabilitation Division: electricity discount.
- Holocaust Survivors’ Rights Authority: income-based benefits.
- National Insurance: senior benefits leaflet.
Official guidance was checked on 2 November 2026, Israel time. The authority’s decision and the tariff for the billed period govern your case.
Related household benefits
For the surrounding costs, see senior benefits and daily life and the utilities guide. Water concessions, municipal arnona reductions and electricity discounts have separate eligibility and account requirements. Our guide to water tariff discounts in Israel explains how the two-step water bill and the extra recognised quantity work.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm with a licensed professional.
Include the bill in your housing budget
When comparing homes, use the actual utility records and benefits confirmed for your household. For help finding a home that fits your location, access needs and monthly budget, contact Semerenko Group.
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