Government transfers to poor insufficient to cover electricity bills – consumer group

German welfare recipients do not receive enough money from the government to pay for electricity, according to the consumer protection organisation Verbraucherzentrale North Rhine-Westphalia. The organisation’s "North Rhine-Westphalia fights energy poverty" project has found that the shortfall is higher than previously calculated. In the industrial state, single mothers would need about 50 euros more per month to pay their energy bills. “The poor don’t automatically need little electricity – quite the opposite,” project leader Stephanie Kosab explained. “They often consume quite a bit because they can’t replace their old, inefficient appliances.” At present, single German welfare recipients receive 416 euros per month, of which 35.05 euros are earmarked for electricity costs.

Read the press release in German here.

For background, see the factsheet What German households pay for power and the article Welfare groups urge power cost relief for German poor.