The job centers paid a total of 2.3 billion euros just for heating and hot water to support recipients Photo: Jan Woitas/dpa
By Dirk Hoeren
The heating costs of Hartz IV households rose sharply last year because of the energy crisis!
The job centers paid a total of 2.3 billion euros just for heating and hot water to support recipients – 6.9 percent more than in 2021.
Especially in the cold last third of the year, when millions of Germans turned down the heating because of the skyrocketing prices, the costs for Hartz IV recipients increased drastically. From September to December alone, the job centers paid out 862.7 million euros for this, 163.8 million euros more than in the same period of the previous year – an increase of 23.4 percent!
The heating costs per square meter in Hartz households rose to a new record of 1.49 euros in December. In the same period in 2021, they were still 1.17 – an increase of 27.4 percent.
On average, the authorities paid €61.86 in heating costs per month for a Hartz single, €88.02 for a couple household and €116.05 for a four-person household.