Most Americans can have their power cut off despite record heatwaves
Even as people prepare for fall and a break from extreme heat and high utility bills, a dangerous late summer heat wave is sweeping Florida, large parts of the deep south, and the desert southwest, forcing nearly 27 million people to endure temperatures of over 100 degrees.But even outside these regions, tens of millions in dozens of states are being asked to take extreme caution as temperatures linger in the high 90s.Over 15 degrees warmer than average, the unseasonably hot temperatures highlight a growing crisis: dozens of states lack protections against utility cutoffs during longer and hotter summers, burdening low-income families struggling to afford air conditioning during a cost-of-living crisis.Those whose power is cut off face the severe health risks associated with extreme heat, while others accrue debt from trying to stay cool. The financial pressures on families have only intensified since the pandemic, while the federal funds they could rely on for help in years gone were cut considerably.“Families should be protected against utility shut-offs during this period of rising temperatures and extreme heatwaves,” said Mark Wolfe, Executive Director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), a Washington, D.C.-based educational and energy policy organization. “Our current strategies, including access to cooling centers and financial assistance, may have been appropriate in the 1970s when summer temperatures and electric costs were lower, and heat waves were sporadic. They are inadequate to provide relief from the record-breaking high temperatures and continuous heat waves that have become our new normal in the summer months.”A recent report by the Centre for Energy Poverty and Climate (EPC) and NEADA found that almost half of Americans live in states without rules restricting disconnections for unpaid or overdue energy bills during potentially deadly heatwaves.Who is protected?Summer shut-off protections are mandated in 20 states and Washington, D.C., according to the report, leaving about 164 million people in the U.S. across 30 states susceptible to being disconnected if they cannot afford their energy bills. Unprotected states with bouts of extreme summer heat include Florida, Hawaii, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky.However, some states with cut-off protections have a high bar for what constitutes extreme or dangerous heat and different ways of administering the rules, according to a collection of state policies analyzed by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). This federally funded assistance program helps families meet energy costs.Eight of the 20 states use 95 degrees as the temperature at which the customer is protected.While some utilities impose a moratorium on shutoffs during summer months, others suspend disconnections only on days when the National Weather Service (NWS) issues an excessive heat warning—even though the impact of extreme heat is cumulative on the body, including death.Arizona, for example, bans power cutoffs between June 1 and Oct. 15 or above 95 degrees the rest of the year. California has no date-related protections, but the temperature must reach over 100 degrees or be forecast to do so within three days. Texas and Louisiana require a heat advisory to be in place. Nevada’s laws activate at 105 degrees but lower to 95 degrees depending on whether the person is elderly or disabled and what kind of home they live in.The District of Columbia and 38 States have policies preventing disconnections for vulnerable populations.However, as the climate changes, states associated with moderate summers are experiencing dangerously high temperatures more often. In June, Ohio Valley, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic states saw temperatures over 100 degrees. Few have hot weather protections.Heat deaths in the U.S. have doubled over the last 24 years, with 2,325 deaths in 2023—the hottest year since records began, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Since 1999, more than 21,518 people have died from heat.Who is at risk?Many Americans view power outages as rare and temporary inconveniences, but for low-income households, the threat of disconnection is constant. Approximately 45 million Americans in states without summer cut-off protections live within 200% of the national poverty line.In 2022, over 3 million customers had their power cut off after missing bill payments, with 30% occurring over the summer. According to NEADA, that figure is expected to rise to 3.5 million by the end of 2024, while utility debt is up nearly 10% to $17.4 billion from last December.This kind of energy insecurity is widespread. During the first year of the pandemic, Black and Hispanic households were significantly more likely to lose power than white households, according to a 2021 study in Nature, a scientific journal. The increased costs force roughly one-third of those in collection or debt to choose utility payments over necessities like food and medicine.A survey of 5,000 Americans living within 200% of the federal poverty line in 2020-2021 found that 27% accrued debt, while 26% chose to live in dangerous temperatures. Less than 20% used balanced billing, while others gave up other expenses.“Aside from unreasonable rate hikes, my May usage was up 10% from last year because of rising heat,” David Coleman, a retiree living in Hillsborough County, Florida, told Food & Water Watch, a Washington D.C.-based environmental group fighting for sustainable food, clean water, and a livable climate. “I pay that bill out of my United Healthcare healthy food benefit. Less for food; more for energy.”Things aren’t expected to improve as bills increase and federal assistance shrinks.The average energy bill is expected to rise by almost 9% across the U.S. from June through September, with households paying an average of $719 – up from $661 during the same period last year.Despite greater financial need, assistance to those in need is dwindling. LIHEAP was cut by $2bn for this fiscal year, and only 20% of the allocated $4.1bn was used to aid struggling families this summer. As a result, about 1 million fewer households received financial help with energy bills. The double hit creates a troubling situation for families, according to Wolfe.“If the price of eggs goes up, you can substitute or shop around,” said Wolfe, who noted that some people can use food stamps and food banks regarding nutrition. “But most people can’t shop around for electricity and don’t have control of the weather. If you have back-to-back heat waves, you need more electricity for cooling. You can’t put it off another day like you might for other things.”He added: “Utilities have significant power, and most are monopolies. It’s a problem that’s not going away.”
Longer and hotter summers will hit low-income homes hardest.
Even as people prepare for fall and a break from extreme heat and high utility bills, a dangerous late summer heat wave is sweeping Florida, large parts of the deep south, and the desert southwest, forcing nearly 27 million people to endure temperatures of over 100 degrees.
But even outside these regions, tens of millions in dozens of states are being asked to take extreme caution as temperatures linger in the high 90s.
Over 15 degrees warmer than average, the unseasonably hot temperatures highlight a growing crisis: dozens of states lack protections against utility cutoffs during longer and hotter summers, burdening low-income families struggling to afford air conditioning during a cost-of-living crisis.
Those whose power is cut off face the severe health risks associated with extreme heat, while others accrue debt from trying to stay cool. The financial pressures on families have only intensified since the pandemic, while the federal funds they could rely on for help in years gone were cut considerably.
“Families should be protected against utility shut-offs during this period of rising temperatures and extreme heatwaves,” said Mark Wolfe, Executive Director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), a Washington, D.C.-based educational and energy policy organization. “Our current strategies, including access to cooling centers and financial assistance, may have been appropriate in the 1970s when summer temperatures and electric costs were lower, and heat waves were sporadic. They are inadequate to provide relief from the record-breaking high temperatures and continuous heat waves that have become our new normal in the summer months.”
A recent report by the Centre for Energy Poverty and Climate (EPC) and NEADA found that almost half of Americans live in states without rules restricting disconnections for unpaid or overdue energy bills during potentially deadly heatwaves.
Who is protected?
Summer shut-off protections are mandated in 20 states and Washington, D.C., according to the report, leaving about 164 million people in the U.S. across 30 states susceptible to being disconnected if they cannot afford their energy bills. Unprotected states with bouts of extreme summer heat include Florida, Hawaii, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
However, some states with cut-off protections have a high bar for what constitutes extreme or dangerous heat and different ways of administering the rules, according to a collection of state policies analyzed by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). This federally funded assistance program helps families meet energy costs.
Eight of the 20 states use 95 degrees as the temperature at which the customer is protected.
While some utilities impose a moratorium on shutoffs during summer months, others suspend disconnections only on days when the National Weather Service (NWS) issues an excessive heat warning—even though the impact of extreme heat is cumulative on the body, including death.
Arizona, for example, bans power cutoffs between June 1 and Oct. 15 or above 95 degrees the rest of the year. California has no date-related protections, but the temperature must reach over 100 degrees or be forecast to do so within three days. Texas and Louisiana require a heat advisory to be in place. Nevada’s laws activate at 105 degrees but lower to 95 degrees depending on whether the person is elderly or disabled and what kind of home they live in.
The District of Columbia and 38 States have policies preventing disconnections for vulnerable populations.
However, as the climate changes, states associated with moderate summers are experiencing dangerously high temperatures more often. In June, Ohio Valley, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic states saw temperatures over 100 degrees. Few have hot weather protections.
Heat deaths in the U.S. have doubled over the last 24 years, with 2,325 deaths in 2023—the hottest year since records began, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Since 1999, more than 21,518 people have died from heat.
Who is at risk?
Many Americans view power outages as rare and temporary inconveniences, but for low-income households, the threat of disconnection is constant. Approximately 45 million Americans in states without summer cut-off protections live within 200% of the national poverty line.
In 2022, over 3 million customers had their power cut off after missing bill payments, with 30% occurring over the summer. According to NEADA, that figure is expected to rise to 3.5 million by the end of 2024, while utility debt is up nearly 10% to $17.4 billion from last December.
This kind of energy insecurity is widespread. During the first year of the pandemic, Black and Hispanic households were significantly more likely to lose power than white households, according to a 2021 study in Nature, a scientific journal. The increased costs force roughly one-third of those in collection or debt to choose utility payments over necessities like food and medicine.
A survey of 5,000 Americans living within 200% of the federal poverty line in 2020-2021 found that 27% accrued debt, while 26% chose to live in dangerous temperatures. Less than 20% used balanced billing, while others gave up other expenses.
“Aside from unreasonable rate hikes, my May usage was up 10% from last year because of rising heat,” David Coleman, a retiree living in Hillsborough County, Florida, told Food & Water Watch, a Washington D.C.-based environmental group fighting for sustainable food, clean water, and a livable climate. “I pay that bill out of my United Healthcare healthy food benefit. Less for food; more for energy.”
Things aren’t expected to improve as bills increase and federal assistance shrinks.
The average energy bill is expected to rise by almost 9% across the U.S. from June through September, with households paying an average of $719 – up from $661 during the same period last year.
Despite greater financial need, assistance to those in need is dwindling. LIHEAP was cut by $2bn for this fiscal year, and only 20% of the allocated $4.1bn was used to aid struggling families this summer. As a result, about 1 million fewer households received financial help with energy bills. The double hit creates a troubling situation for families, according to Wolfe.
“If the price of eggs goes up, you can substitute or shop around,” said Wolfe, who noted that some people can use food stamps and food banks regarding nutrition. “But most people can’t shop around for electricity and don’t have control of the weather. If you have back-to-back heat waves, you need more electricity for cooling. You can’t put it off another day like you might for other things.”
He added: “Utilities have significant power, and most are monopolies. It’s a problem that’s not going away.”