Hartz IV recipients worried: "Electricity prices are scary"

Created: 01/17/2022 15:52

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

The electricity prices now exceed the Hartz IV standard rates provided for this purpose.

© Ralf Homburg/Lobeca/Imago

Electricity prices have risen sharply recently.

This is becoming a serious problem for more and more Hartz IV recipients.

Berlin - The rising cost of living can become a threat to the existence of Hartz IV recipients and low earners.

Before that, Ulrich Schneider, Managing Director of the Paritätisches Gesamtverband, warned on Deutschlandfunk: “For Hartz IV recipients or people on basic old-age security, these price increases* are a disaster.” Above all, the significantly increased electricity prices would “frighten” the people affected.

Electricity prices exceed the Hartz IV flat rate

Because the electricity prices now exceed the Hartz IV flat rate provided for this purpose.

The comparison portal Check24 calculates in a statement that with an annual consumption of 1,500 kilowatt hours in the basic supply, annual costs of 599 euros are incurred on average.

The Hartz IV flat rate for housing, energy and residential maintenance will only be 463 euros per year from 2022.

This means that Hartz IV recipients have to spend an average of 136 euros more per year on electricity than provided for by the regulation.

Although there are cheaper electricity tariffs outside of the basic supply, large cheap electricity providers such as Stromio*, Grünwelt and Gas.de terminated their customers at the end of the year.

This means that hundreds of thousands of people fall back into the basic supply of the local electricity provider.

And there, the tariffs for new customers can be much higher than before, depending on the provider.

According to Check24, the basic electricity suppliers have already increased prices or announced increases in 499 cases.

The average price increases are 39.7 percent and affect a good 3.5 million households.

Schneider: "The ancillary costs have become a second rent"

"The ancillary costs have developed into a second rent," said Schneider about the rising electricity prices on Deutschlandfunk.

He thinks that the housing benefit needs to be reorganized.

Because of the significantly increased prices, the traffic light coalition is now also planning a one-off heating cost surcharge for recipients of housing benefit and is discussing a further increase in the standard rates.

The Hartz IV rates were raised by 0.7 percent at the beginning of the year.

In view of the rising prices*, Schneider describes this as a "bad joke".

*