Americans Can Expect Significant Change to Energy Bills Due to Extreme Weather

Americans are fed up with rising heat and rising costs, and the struggle is only just beginning. 

High Heat = More Power = More Money

It is a given that many people switch on their A/Cs once summer comes around to combat the sweltering heat. Yet high temperatures are typically connected to high energy bills. 

Higher Than Usual

According to a 2023 study conducted by Bankrate, nearly three-quarters of Americans mentioned experiencing higher-than-usual electricity bills during the summer months, with more than half stating that this strained their finances. 

Keeping Cool Is Now Twice the Price

Home energy costs have increased astronomically over the last 10 years. A report from the Center for Energy Poverty and Climate states that unprecedented heat waves and rise in summer temperatures due to climate change resulted in a 51 percent increase in energy costs, from $476 in summer 2014 to a predicted $719 this summer.

Saving Money, But At What Cost?

Many low-income Americans have to choose between staying cool while struggling financially, or affording to live at the stake of their health. 

Drastic Measures

According to a survey from Power Setter, some are resorting to drastic measures to pay their power bills, like cutting back on groceries or borrowing money to keep up with payments.

What About Those Without A/C?

It may seem like everyone has an A/C, but approximately 13 percent of U.S. households do not have one, and most are lower-income households. 

Beat the Heat

Many of these households are reported to use alternative methods to beat the heat by taking cold showers, using shades and blinds to block out heat or trying to prepare meals without using a stove or oven, being constantly exposed to extreme heat can have major health risks.

How Heat Impacts Health

Exposure to extreme heat can seriously threaten human health if not appropriately addressed. When temperatures get high enough to raise the body’s core temperature, various heat stress illnesses like heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. 

Heat Can Mess With Your Mind

Extreme heat can even impact sleep and overall mental health. A 2024 poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 39 percent of Americans reported that extreme heat had a major or minor impact on their sleep. 

Worse For Some Americans

The study showed these numbers were higher for Hispanic and Black communities and households making less than $30,000 annually. 

A Potential Path to Relief

In recent years, multiple states have implemented legislative changes to help lower energy costs. One includes a recently passed California state bill to cut the usage rate to make electricity cheaper for everyone. 

Introducing Fixed Rate

It will also change how electricity rates are charged throughout the state by implementing a fixed rate for a portion of their utility bill.

Additional Changes from Gavin Newsom

Another proposal from California Governor Gavin Newsom has three key elements that will help achieve energy bill savings: discontinuing a state program that funds school HVAC system upgrades, controlling utility wildfire mitigation costs, and lowering investment costs for grid infrastructure. 

Billion Dollar Savings

If this bill is passed, the state could potentially create up to a billion dollars in savings during its first year in action.

Federal Funding Is Dwindling

Despite these efforts, multiple federal programs available for low-income Americans to help save on energy costs have faced drastic cuts in the last few years. 

Major Cuts

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) faced a $2 billion cut this year alone, which has forced states across the country to remove over 1.5 million families from the program and reduce their cooling programs altogether.

Extreme Heat Affects Everyone

While low-income and minority communities in the United States are disproportionately affected by heat waves and constant heat exposure, other populations are at greater risk of health risks or even death from extreme heat. 

Who’s At High Risk? 

Those at high-risk include children, the elderly, construction and agricultural workers, people with pre-existing medical conditions and people who live in urban areas.

So, What Next?

Sure, there are numerous methods that individuals can use to reduce energy costs during the summer months. 

Money Saving Methods

Some of these methods include turning off the A/C when it isn’t needed, unplugging electronics when they’re not in use and opening windows and doors throughout the home for increased ventilation. 

Long Term Solutions

In short, real change must come from the top through increased federal funding for low-income energy-saving programs and additional legislation to help reduce energy costs.

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