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Citizens' income is not enough for rising electricity costs: what those affected can do

2023-02-20T14:14:40.000Z


Since the beginning of the year, the standard rate has increased with the new citizens' income. However, experts complain that even that is not enough to cover the increased costs.


Since the beginning of the year, the standard rate has increased with the new citizens' income.

However, experts complain that even that is not enough to cover the increased costs.

Berlin – A single household gets 43.55 euros a month for energy costs with the new citizens’ allowance.

Above all, the electricity has to be paid for, which is not paid for separately with the remaining housing and heating costs.

According to the comparison portal Verivox, one-person households currently pay an average of 47 euros per month for electricity.

The standard requirement is therefore already insufficient.

Electricity costs cannot be paid: Citizens' allowance recipients should submit a hardship application

Those affected are advised to submit an application for additional demand to cover the electricity costs.

According to the Social Security Code, the job center must give an affected person more money if there is a so-called “irrefutable special need”.

In the past, social courts have determined that there is an irrefutable need if the monthly additional need deviates at least 20 euros from the average need.

In plain language, this means: If the monthly electricity costs are at least 20 euros higher than what you get for them as a citizen benefit recipient, then the job center has to give more money.

However, this additional requirement must be applied for.

And: It is at the discretion of the job center whether the additional need is recognized or not.

There are considerable doubts as to whether the job center will recognize the additional need for higher electricity costs.

In the case of one-off payments (e.g. for an additional payment for electricity costs), it is possible to apply for a loan from the job center, but this must be repaid.

However, this is not a viable option for running costs.

Experts therefore expect complaints before the social courts in the next few months.

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The job center: At the beginning of the year, the old Hartz IV social welfare system was replaced by citizen income.

© Hauke-Christian Dittrich / dpa

Citizens' income is not enough for electricity costs: legislators must react

Nine years ago, the Federal Constitutional Court decided in a similar case that the legislature is obliged to increase standard requirements when energy prices rise.

“If there is an obvious and significant discrepancy between the actual price development and the price development for standard requirement-relevant goods taken into account when updating the standard requirement levels, the legislature must react promptly.

The development of prices for household electricity must be taken into account," the constitutional court ruled in 2014.

According to gegen-hartz.de

, social law expert Harald Thomé says

that the job center must therefore either remove the electricity costs from the standard requirement, or they grant hardship applications for irrefutable needs.

This is the only way to ensure that the subsistence level for recipients of citizen income is covered.

List of rubrics: © Hauke-Christian Dittrich / dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-02-20

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