The employer wants you to be there, if they want you to stay home, they save on the office bill and can pay for the difference in your bills

It's a zero sum game for them

No big deal, seems fair to me

Your employer also doesn't ask you to work from the bedroom while in the office. If your home is not equipped for office work (you live with family, have no dedicated office room, or multiple residents have to work from home at the same time) then you end up working in some pretty poor conditions. Some may be breaching the regulation regarding work safety and I'm sure this isn't part of your contract. Then there are additional costs with internet, electricity, or heating/cooling to consider.

If the situation becomes permanent some people may have to move to larger homes, upgrade some utility subscriptions, etc. But I'm afraid for most people this payout from the employer will come out of their future raises.

No, they pay for it. They should still pay for the costs associated with that work. I'm shoving $50 a month to keep the AC when normally it would be off. They're shifting a cost to the employee otherwise.