Does the Jobcenter pay for electricity? The line between energy and heating

Last checked against the official sources: 29 August 2026

The short answer annoys people but it is precise: household electricity comes out of your own pocket — because it is already counted inside the lump sum you receive. Heating and hot water sit outside it and are paid at actual cost. The dividing line between the two is written into a single clause of Section 20, and everything turns on it.

A heater in your flat changes the whole calculation

If hot water reaches your flat from a central system in the building, its cost travels with the heating under Section 22 and is genuinely paid. If instead it is heated inside the flat itself — by an electric or gas heater — the cost runs through your own meter, which is why the statute gives it a separate additional requirement.

The rate is not uniform but graded by age, because consumption differs: 2.3% of the standard requirement for adults, 1.4% for someone in their fifteenth year, 1.2% from the start of the seventh until the fourteenth is completed, and 0.8% up to the completed sixth year. It is calculated for each entitled person living in the household, not for the household as a whole.

This is the additional requirement most often lost in silence, because nobody asks a recipient how their water is heated. If there is a heater in your flat, say so in writing.

And if your actual consumption exceeds the percentage, the statute opens exactly one door: a separate measuring device evidencing the difference. Without one, the excess is not recognised however large the bill.

An electricity refund stays yours — by express provision

This point returns money to recipients who assume it is lost. The general rule in Section 22(3) is that refunds and credits attributable to accommodation and heating reduce the following month’s costs — so a heating refund is effectively deducted.

Then comes the second clause: refunds relating to household energy costs are left out of account. The logic is entirely consistent: nothing paid out of the lump sum is clawed back, so if household electricity comes from your pocket, its refund is yours.

The same is said of refunds relating to accommodation and heating costs that were not recognised: those too are not counted against you.

When the supplier threatens disconnection

The statute does not leave this case unaddressed, but its response sits in two places:

Direct payment. Section 22 provides that the accommodation payment should go straight to the landlord or other person entitled to receive it where proper use is not assured — and it names among the examples energy arrears that would justify an interruption of supply.

Taking over debts. The same provision allows debts to be taken over where justified to secure the accommodation or to relieve a comparable emergency — and a disconnection falls under that heading. Available assets are used first, and the money is normally provided as a loan.

There is a third, broader door with conditions attached: Section 21(6) recognises an additional requirement where the individual case presents an unavoidable special need, provided it is large enough to deviate appreciably from an average need and cannot be met from third-party support or by economising. For one-off needs it is further required that a loan be exceptionally unreasonable or impossible.

What to do now

1. Find out how your water is heatedOne question decides whether the decentralised hot-water rate is yours. If there is a heater in the flat, you are in Section 21(7).
2. Claim the rate in writing for each person separatelyIt is calculated for every entitled person in the household by age band, not once for the family.
3. If your bill is far higher, fit a separate meterIt is the only route the statute provides for going beyond the flat percentage.
4. Do not hand over an electricity refundRefunds relating to household energy are left out of account by express provision, as are those relating to unrecognised accommodation costs.
5. Check that heating and central hot water are not charged to you twiceThey are outside the lump sum by the wording of Section 20 and paid at actual cost under Section 22.
6. Facing disconnection, ask for direct payment and debt takeover togetherNot one or the other. The first prevents a repeat, the second deals with what has accumulated — and both are provided for.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Jobcenter pay the electricity bill?

Not separately. Section 20 counts “household energy” as part of the standard requirement — the lump sum you receive — so electricity is paid from it.

And heating?

Outside the lump sum. Section 20 expressly excludes the shares attributable to heating and hot-water generation, and they are paid at actual cost under Section 22 so long as appropriate.

I have a heater in the flat — is there anything extra?

Yes. Section 21(7) grants an additional requirement for decentralised hot water: 2.3% for adults, 1.4% in the fifteenth year, 1.2% from seven until 14 is completed, and 0.8% up to the completed sixth year — for each entitled person in the household.

My bill is higher than the set percentage — what can I do?

The statute provides that higher expenses are taken into account only where evidenced by a separate measuring device.

I received a refund from the electricity company — is it deducted?

No. Section 22(3) provides that refunds relating to household energy costs are left out of account, unlike refunds on accommodation and heating.

I am facing disconnection over arrears — what is the remedy?

Two routes are provided: direct payment to the person entitled to receive it, which should happen where energy arrears would justify an interruption of supply; and taking over the debts where justified to secure the accommodation or relieve a comparable emergency, normally as a loan.

Can exceptional energy costs be recognised?

Section 21(6) recognises an additional requirement where an unavoidable special need exists, provided it deviates appreciably from an average need and cannot be met from third-party support or by economising.