The Cost of Keeping Cool: Energy Affordability and Extreme Heat

Affordable energy is a necessity for maintaining a safe home. Without consistent electricity and power, households are unable to preserve or prepare food, charge medical devices, or heat and cool their living spaces. Although access to electricity is ubiquitous in the United States, many families are burdened with unaffordable bills that force difficult decisions between maintaining a safe and comfortable home environment and accessing other needs. 

This report outlines the geography and scale of household energy burden across the country, with particular attention to the impacts of extreme heat and cooling costs. Using county-level estimates of household energy costs and energy poverty, this report details where energy burden is most severe and how it varies across regions and seasons. It also examines how rising temperatures and increasing electricity costs are placing additional pressure on households that already struggle with energy affordability, and it explains the ways that high temperatures intensify the consequences of energy insecurity. The analysis concludes with the ways that federal and state support for energy affordability fail to recognize the importance of cooling access. The findings illustrate that efforts to reduce household energy burden must incorporate the compounding role of extreme heat. 

This report is a companion to LIHEAP Under Heat: Assessing Policy Reforms and Funding Needs to Address State Energy Burdens. Both reports are part of Bridging Divides, a project by the Heat Policy Innovation Hub that addresses heat risk across systems and sectors.

You might also be interested in:

• Five Key Findings: The Cost of Keeping Cool
   

For media inquiries, contact the Nicholas Institute communications team at ni-comm@duke.edu.