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

Indiana University Indiana University IU

Open Search
  • Who We Are
    • Leadership
    • Advisory Boards
    • Researchers
    • Staff
    • Mission and Vision
  • Who We Work With
    • Local Governments
      • ERI Toolkit
      • Hoosier Resilience Index
      • Webinars
      • Resilience Cohort
      • Beat the Heat
    • Educators
    • Residents
      • Hoosier Resilience Heroes
    • Researchers
    • Careers
  • Research
    • Wildlife Migration
    • Pests and Invasive Species
    • Climate and Water Systems
    • Forests and Green Infrastructure
    • Human Impacts and Attitudes
    • Communication, Education, and Outreach
    • ERI Data Resources
  • Tools & Resources
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Newsletters
  • Support Our Work
  • Contact
  • Donate

Environmental Resilience Institute
Part of the Prepared for Environmental Change Grand Challenge

  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Leadership
    • Advisory Boards
    • Researchers
    • Staff
    • Mission and Vision
  • Who We Work With
    • Local Governments
    • Educators
    • Residents
    • Researchers
    • Careers
  • Research
    • Wildlife Migration
    • Pests and Invasive Species
    • Climate and Water Systems
    • Forests and Green Infrastructure
    • Human Impacts and Attitudes
    • Communication, Education, and Outreach
    • ERI Data Resources
  • Tools & Resources
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Newsletters
  • Support Our Work
  • Search
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Home
  • News & Events
  • News
  • Archive
  • 2020
  • Energy is a basic need, and many Americans are struggling to afford it in the COVID-19 recession

Energy is a basic need, and many Americans are struggling to afford it in the COVID-19 recession

By: The Conversation

Thursday, July 30, 2020

David Konisky

Several months into the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, lower-income families are struggling to pay their energy bills. That’s a big concern during extreme events like summer heat waves, which can be deadly – especially for elderly people, young children, people of color and the poor.

We ran a nationally representative survey in May 2020 of U.S. low-income households to measure energy insecurity. We found that 13% of respondents had been unable to pay an energy bill during the prior month, 9% had received an electricity utility shutoff notice and 4% had had their electric utility service disconnected.

Sanya Carley

More than half of the states temporarily barred utilities from disconnecting customers who were unable to pay their bills due to financial hardship in the early months of the economic downturn. Still, extrapolating our findings to the national level suggests that approximately 800,000 low-income households may have recently had their electricity disconnected.

And the problem could get worse as the economy continues to struggle. As scholars who study energy policy, the environment and energy justice, we believe energy assistance should be a central part of ongoing state and federal relief efforts.

Read the full article

Additional coverage from the Houston Chronicle.

Additional links and resources

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

Indiana University

Accessibility | Privacy Notice | Copyright © 2021 The Trustees of Indiana University

  • Who We Are
    • Leadership
    • Advisory Boards
    • Researchers
    • Staff
    • Mission and Vision
  • Who We Work With
    • Local Governments
      • ERI Toolkit
      • Hoosier Resilience Index
      • Webinars
      • Resilience Cohort
      • Beat the Heat
    • Educators
    • Residents
      • Hoosier Resilience Heroes
    • Researchers
    • Careers
  • Research
    • Wildlife Migration
    • Pests and Invasive Species
    • Climate and Water Systems
    • Forests and Green Infrastructure
    • Human Impacts and Attitudes
    • Communication, Education, and Outreach
    • ERI Data Resources
  • Tools & Resources
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Newsletters
  • Support Our Work
  • Contact
  • Donate