Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that the subsidy monetization program for Ukrainian households has been launched.

"We are launching the long-awaited system of monetization of subsidies, namely, cash payments to low-income groups of the population. The average amount of payments will be UAH 1,500," Poroshenko said at a meeting devoted to the introduction of monetization of subsidies in Kyiv on Wednesday.

According to the president, this decision is one of the elements for establishing the country's energy independence, as well as significantly reducing the "space for corruption" in this area.

According to Minister of Social Policy Andriy Reva, currently 3.742 million households are candidates for receiving a monetized subsidy.

He said that the corresponding payments for the current heating season will be paid in March, April and May of this year. "After this, the reassignment of the subsidy to the new year will be carried out starting May 2019," the minister said.

Reva said that 69.9% of the recipients of subsidies are retired.

The subsidy will be transferred by money transfer through the state-owned Oschadbank, and the pensioners will be paid by the Pension Fund at the same time as the pension.

To receive a money transfer, you will need to contact the nearest Oschadbank branch and provide a passport and an identification code. Simultaneously with the payment of a money transfer, a personal bank account will be opened for each recipient of the subsidy, to which the subsidy amount will be transferred in April and May.

Pensioners who receive pension payments through other banks will be able to withdraw their subsidy directly from the ATMs of this bank. For those who do not have a pension card, Ukrposhta will deliver the subsidy along with the pension.

The Social Policy Ministry reported that everyone who applied for a subsidy for the first time in 2019 participates in the current monetization model. That is, Oschadbank will pay to companies for consumed services, while subsidy recipients will receive the unused cash subsidies through Oschadbank at the end of this heating season.