The central government said Friday that it will provide subsidies in August and September to slash electricity and city gas bills by ¥2,125 per month for the average household.

The subsidies will be ¥4 per kilowatt-hour of electricity and ¥17.5 per cubic meter of city gas, industry minister Ken Saito told a news conference.

The move is designed to cushion the impact of rising prices on households in the summer when air-conditioner use increases.

The government will cut the subsidy amount in October to ¥2.5 per kWh of electricity and ¥10 per cubic meter of city gas.

It will also keep subsidies aimed at curbing gasoline prices in place until the end of the year.

"At a time when prices remain elevated due mainly to the yen's depreciation, many people have voiced worries about severe heat this summer," Saito said.

Subsidies are "necessary as a measure with an immediate effect to help people weather the intense heat," he said.

Saito added that these subsidies should not remain in place indefinitely, given the need to reduce carbon emissions.

Until April, the government provided subsidies of ¥3.5 per kWh of electricity and ¥15 per cubic meter of city gas. The subsidies were halved in May and then ended.

At a news conference on June 21, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that his government would restart the subsidy program as part of efforts to fight inflation.

The government expects the subsidy program to lower consumer inflation by 0.5 percentage point.