The Gás do Povo Program starts to serve all Brazilian capitals from this Monday (26). In this second phase, 950,000 new families in 17 capital cities will receive a voucher for free refilling of 13-kilogram (kg) cooking gas (LPG) cylinders, which can be used at more than 10,000 accredited retailers across the country.
According to the Ministry of Development, Social Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger (MDS), Gás do Povo should be fully operational in March, when 15 million families will benefit. The program aims to combat energy poverty, defined as a family’s difficulty in accessing essential and modern energy services, such as lighting, heating, refrigeration and energy for cooking.
According to the government, the program brings benefits not only for low-income families, but for public health. The MDS highlights that access to cylinders reduces the use of dangerous alternatives (such as firewood, coal and kerosene) for cooking, reduces the risk of respiratory diseases and burns and guarantees access to clean and safe energy sources.
The Minister of Development and Social Assistance, Wellington Dias, highlights that the program directly helps families’ budgets. “The benefit relieves the family budget of the poorest, who can use the money they would spend on the gas cylinder to buy food or meet other basic needs”, he states. Gas Aid, the current benefit that allows around 4.4 million low-income families to purchase a 13 kg cylinder every two months, will be replaced.
What changes at this stage
• Inclusion of 950 thousand new families in the program
• Expansion to 17 capitals that did not yet participate
• Coverage now reaches all capitals of the country
• Voucher can be used at more than 10 thousand accredited resellers
Capitals included as of 01/26
• Aracaju (SE)
• Boa Vista (RR)
• Brasília (DF)
• Campo Grande (MS)
• Cuiabá (MT)
• Curitiba (PR)
• Florianópolis (SC)
• João Pessoa (PB)
• Macapá (AP)
• Maceió (AL)
• Manaus (AM)
• Palmas (TO)
• Porto Velho (RO)
• Rio Branco (AC)
• Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
• São Luís (MA)
• Vitória (ES)
Who is entitled to People’s Gas
To receive the benefit, the family needs:
• Be a beneficiary of Bolsa Família;
• Have at least two people in the family unit;
• Have a per capita income of up to half the minimum wage;
• Have the Single Registry updated in the last 24 months;
• Have the Family Responsible Individual Taxpayer Registration (CPF) in good standing, with no outstanding issues.
How to use the gas voucher
The benefit can be accessed in different ways:
• Meu Social application – Gás do Povo;
• Bolsa Família card (with chip);
• Caixa debit card;
• Enter the CPF of the Family Responsible on the resale machine and receive the code via SMS.
Where to check the benefit
• Meu Social – Gás do Povo application, available for cell phones in the systems Android and iOS;
• Official Gás do Povo page on MDS website;
• Portal Citizen Caixa;
• Caixa Cidadão: 0800-726-0207.
Channels for answering questions
• Dial Social 121 (MDS);
• FalaBR, from the Federal Government
• SAC Caixa: 0800-726-0101;
Next steps for the program
• Coverage in all 5,571 municipalities in the country until March;
• Serving 15 million families in the next two months;
• Permanent replacement of the old Auxílio Gás, focusing on direct refilling of the cylinder.
