Rising temperatures and increasing electricity costs are placing additional pressure on households already struggling to afford adequate cooling for their homes. Yet state and federal policies and funding do not offer the same support for air conditioning in hotter months as heating in colder months, according to a new report from Duke University experts.
The report from Duke’s Heat Policy Innovation Hub—based at the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability—maps the intersecting impacts of extreme heat and energy affordability county-by-county across the United States.
The report is a companion to a February publication on the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The earlier paper found warm-weather states receive disproportionately less LIHEAP funding relative to their energy expenditures compared to cold-weather states.
Key findings from the report include:
1. Energy insecurity can force families to make difficult choices during extreme heat events. In 2024, nearly a third of U.S. households surveyed by the Energy Information Administration said they could not consistently access affordable energy. In that same survey, 13% of households reported maintaining dangerously unhealthy temperatures to avoid higher energy bills. The report notes that some families facing high energy burdens ration food or medicine to cover their energy costs.
2. Home energy burdens vary widely by region and season. Climate, housing characteristics, energy prices and household income are among the many factors that can lead to vast differences in energy poverty, not just from state to state but between neighboring counties. Maps in the report also show seasonal patterns in the proportions of households with unaffordable energy bills. In 2022, for example, seven states—Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Nevada, Oklahoma and Texas—saw their highest energy expenditures during the summer.
3. Extreme heat is intensifying energy affordability challenges. From 2018 to 2024, 376 counties spread primarily across California and the Sun Belt saw the cost of cooling a home increase an average of more than $15 each year. In parts of inland California, frequent high temperatures and dramatic increases in electricity rates have combined to raise the cost of cooling as much as $120 per year.
4. Energy assistance programs tend to prioritize heating over cooling. The February paper on LIHEAP showed income-eligible households across the country received four times more funding assistance through the program for heating than cooling in 2024. The LIHEAP allocation formula and legislative language have tended to favor cold-weather regions with more heating needs. Modeling suggests a 3% increase in overall LIHEAP funding from its 2021 high, coupled with reforms to the program, could correct the regional imbalance without reducing any individual state’s support. The new report also notes that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sets minimum heating standards for all public housing, but current standards for utility allowances frame air conditioning as optional rather than a necessity.
5. Many states protect households from utility service disconnection during cold weather—far fewer do so during heat. Without funding assistance, energy-burdened households are at risk of service disconnections. While 40 states and the District of Columbia have policies against cutting off electric or gas service during the winter, only 18 states and D.C. have comparable heat season policies. Among those 18, only Arizona, Delaware and New Jersey have season-long protections rather than—or in addition to—a temperature threshold, which only covers the most extreme days.
“Safeguarding people’s health from extreme heat is growing more and more intertwined with ensuring they can pay their monthly electricity bill,” said lead author Elizabeth Berg, policy analyst with the Heat Policy Innovation Hub. “State and federal policy is broadly supportive of helping the most vulnerable with their energy costs to get through the winter months. We need a shift in mindset to offer at least that same level of support when temperatures are at their highest.”
The report was authored by three Nicholas Institute experts: Berg; Peri Brimley, a policy analyst; and Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub.
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Berg, E., P. Brimley, and A. Ward. 2026. The Cost of Keeping Cool: Energy Affordability and Extreme Heat. NI 26-16. Durham, NC: Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Duke University. https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/publications/cost-keeping-cool.
For media inquiries, contact the Nicholas Institute communications team at ni-comm@duke.edu.
