Written by NCLC with support from and collaboration with the Center for Energy, Poverty, and Climate, this report examines the impacts of extreme heat on utility consumers and recommends immediate actions policymakers and regulators must take to safeguard utility services for under-resourced consumers facing extreme weather.
Recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration confirms that unaffordability of essential utility service remains a problem for nearly 30% of the U.S. population, and that lower income households, households with children, renters, and families who identify as either Black or African American or as Hispanic or Latino reported higher rates of energy insecurity.
Low-income utility customers face increasingly difficult decisions during extreme weather, often forgoing food, medicine, and other life essentials to pay their energy bills. Extreme heat affects all communities, and Black and Latino communities are among those most at risk for dangerous health impacts. Financially struggling utility customers are driven to restrict their energy use and limit use of air conditioning during extreme heat, out of fear of unaffordable utility bills.
The report identifies several recommendations for policymakers:
- Create calendar-based utility shut-off moratoriums to ensure continued access to essential utility service during weather extremes;
- Ensure utility rates are affordable for all through the implementation of percentage of income payment programs (PIPPs) and income-tiered discounts;
- Revise utility credit and collection practices to ensure people are treated fairly when they can’t pay an electric bill;
- Require utilities to file monthly data on utility disconnections and energy poverty;
- Increase funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and weatherization programs;
- Replace the 100-plus-year-old practice of disconnecting utility customers due to inability to pay with enhanced, year-round protections from disconnection for vulnerable populations, including older adults, households with children, and medically compromised customers.