• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Search

Indiana University Indiana University IU

Open Search
  • Who We Are
    • Leadership
      • Past Leadership
    • Advisory Boards
    • Researchers
      • Affiliates
    • Staff
    • Vision & Mission
    • Careers
  • Who We Work With
    • Businesses and Nonprofits
    • Educators
    • Faculty
      • Research development
    • Local Governments
      • ERI Toolkit
      • Hoosier Resilience Index
      • Resilience Cohort
      • Webinars
      • Beat the Heat
    • Residents
      • Hoosier Resilience Heroes
    • Students
  • Research
    • Projects
    • Publications
  • Tools & Resources
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Newsletters
  • Support Our Work
    • Individuals and Families
    • Corporations
    • Foundations
    • Ways to Give
    • Contact
  • Contact

Environmental Resilience Institute

  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Leadership
    • Advisory Boards
    • Researchers
    • Staff
    • Vision & Mission
    • Careers
  • Who We Work With
    • Businesses and Nonprofits
    • Educators
    • Faculty
    • Local Governments
    • Residents
    • Students
  • Research
    • Projects
    • Publications
  • Tools & Resources
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Newsletters
  • Support Our Work
    • Individuals and Families
    • Corporations
    • Foundations
    • Ways to Give
    • Contact
  • Search
  • Contact
  • Home
  • News & Events
  • News
  • Archive
  • 2020
  • Coronavirus is creating a crisis of energy insecurity

Coronavirus is creating a crisis of energy insecurity

By: Environmental Health News

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Decorative - a headshot of Sanya Carley
Sanya Carley

As the nation remains in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, a more insidious crisis is taking root as households are unable to pay their energy bills, risking serious health consequences and increasing debt, while federal and state governments fail to adequately protect vulnerable families.

Before COVID-19, one in three American households were struggling to pay their energy bills.

An increase in extreme temperatures – brought on by climate change – combined with rising energy costs forced consumers to make impossible choices between keeping their lights on, purchasing food, or seeking medical care.

David Konisky

The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated this problem. As individuals lost their jobs at alarming rates, they were also asked, or mandated, to stay at home to stop the spread of the virus. This led to an unexpected increase in residential energy use and corresponding energy bills.

In a new nationally representative survey of 2,381 low-income households, administered in May 2020, we find that the pandemic has deepened energy insecurity. Those who lost their jobs or had their hours reduced due to the pandemic were three times more likely to report an inability to pay an energy bill in the previous month.

In addition, like COVID-19 itself, energy insecurity has disproportionately worsened for vulnerable populations. African American (16 percent) and Hispanic (19 percent) households were far more likely to report difficulty paying an energy bill in the last month compared to White respondents (9 percent).

Read the full article

Environmental Resilience Institute resources

  • Environmental Resilience Institute Toolkit (ERIT)
  • Hoosier Resilience Index
  • Donate
  • Webinars

Additional links and resources

  • ERI INTRANET
  • GRAND CHALLENGES
Donation button to Give Now to Environmental Resilience Institute
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Indiana University

Accessibility | Privacy Notice | Copyright © 2023 The Trustees of Indiana University

  • Who We Are
    • Leadership
      • Past Leadership
    • Advisory Boards
    • Researchers
      • Affiliates
    • Staff
    • Vision & Mission
    • Careers
  • Who We Work With
    • Businesses and Nonprofits
    • Educators
    • Faculty
      • Research development
    • Local Governments
      • ERI Toolkit
      • Hoosier Resilience Index
      • Resilience Cohort
      • Webinars
      • Beat the Heat
    • Residents
      • Hoosier Resilience Heroes
    • Students
  • Research
    • Projects
    • Publications
  • Tools & Resources
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Newsletters
  • Support Our Work
    • Individuals and Families
    • Corporations
    • Foundations
    • Ways to Give
    • Contact
  • Contact