Extreme Heat, Extreme Costs: How Danger Season Exacerbates the Affordability Crisis

This summer's heat waves and storms have been a reminder of how much homes now depend on electricity to stay safe, not just comfortable. Air conditioners, fans, and refrigerators for medication all need power, and for older adults, young children, and people with chronic illness, cooling can be a matter of health, not just comfort. But cooling is getting more expensive. Since 2020, average household electricity spending during the May-to-October stretch has risen more than 30 percent, driven by higher electricity demand, rising retail prices, and grid infrastructure costs. At the same time, homes need more cooling than they used to, based on 50 years of federal weather data tracking how much cooling buildings require each season.

These rising costs land hardest on lower-income households, which already spend a much bigger share of their income on energy bills. Census survey data found that more than a quarter of households earning under $25,000 a year kept their homes at temperatures they considered unsafe or unhealthy, and lower-income households were far more likely to cut spending on food or medicine to cover energy bills. Newer federal survey data also show rising rates of utility disconnection notices and inability to adequately heat or cool the home compared with just a few years earlier.

Steps like weatherization (sealing and insulating a home to cut energy use), utility bill assistance programs, and stronger protections against disconnection can help households manage these costs. Programs vary by state, so it's worth checking what assistance is available where you live.