The Government of Moldova will allocate 82 million lei to cover the difference between the old and new electric power, heat and water charges. A number of 20,000 families and more than 180,000 socially disfavored persons, including budget-paid employees, will benefit from additional financial assistance. The announcement was made by Premier Vlad Filat in a news conference on February 16, Info-Prim Neo reports. Filat said the Cabinet will approve a bill to this effect at its Wednesday's meeting. Afterward, the bill will be examined by the Parliament at one of its coming hearings. According to Filat, the law could be published in the Official Gazette next week. “The law will cover January, February and March. At yearend, we will propose another law to support the socially deprived persons,” he said. Vlad Filat stressed the money will be provided from the financial assistance offered by the foreign partners. The European Commission will allocate 1.4 million euros, the United States – 2.3 million euros, while the UK Department for International Development – 3 million pounds. The 82 million lei will be used to provide compensations to 20,000 disfavored families, more than 115,000 persons who benefit from pensions and social welfare and over 67,000 budget-paid employees with a monthly salary lower than 700 lei. Filat said the money will be distributed according to the existing social assistance system. He added that this time the money will be transferred to the recipients, not the service providers. A sum of 688 million lei was earmarked in the 2010 state budget for social welfare and nominal compensations.