(Bloomberg) -- Poland’s government wants to use the central bank’s record profit to pay for subsidies to about 3.8 million households that burn coal to heat their homes.

The draft legislation, which the parliament will discuss on Wednesday, aims to help consumers deal with surging energy prices and coal shortages ahead of the winter season. Polish households accounted for 87% of coal used to heat homes in the European Union in 2019, according to Forum Energii think tank.

Faced with a deepening cost-of-living crisis, the government plans to transfer most of almost 11 billion zloty ($2.4 billion) the central bank earned in 2021 to a special fund that will pay out 3,000 zloty to every household with a coal-burning furnace. It’s the first instance when central bank profit will go directly to citizens instead of bolstering the state budget.

Poland’s central bank has raised interest rates for 10 consecutive months in response to the highest inflation in quarter of a century. The government has cut taxes on food and fuels and is also working on additional aid for households to help them cope with surging electricity and gas tariffs.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.