Summer temperatures are expected to break records this year. So are electric bills.
U.S. electricity bills are forecast to reach new heights, jumping 7.9% to total $719 from June through September. That average is up from $661 over the same four-month stretch last year, say the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) and the Center for Energy Poverty, and Climate (CEPC).
Low-income families who can least afford higher bills will be hit hardest, said Mark Wolfe, executive director of NEADA, which represents state governments in federal programs to help low-income families pay water, heating, and cooling bills.
“The dangers of extreme heat leave low-income families at heightened risk, due to lack of access to affordable summer cooling, increasing electric costs and cutbacks in funding” of federal aid programs, Wolfe said.
Why are electric bills soaring?
Many factors influence electricity costs: the price of fuel that utilities use to generate power; the cost of building and maintaining plants and grids that transmit it; and regulations.
But the main factor driving up electric bills this summer is weather. Extreme heat will prompt people to crank up their air conditioning, raising energy bills for homes and businesses.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gives 2024 a 61% chance of topping last summer’s record heat.
From June through August, temperatures are forecast to run at least 2 degrees above historical averages across more than…
