The document here shared is a comprehensive report conducted by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy on a total of 48 of the largest cities in the United States. From the conclusions of the report, energy burden is most felt by lower-income households. However, the inability to meet monthly energy bills by low-income households is then spread across the board to other utility subscribers and, in time like the COVID-19 pandemic, even middle-to-higher income families with savings might be troubled in their utility payments. Now, energy burden cannot simply be attributed to income, but rather is birthed by other factors that, wholistically, work to generate such burden. Some of these factors do include energy inefficiency in housing stock. More specifically, if household owners, or renters, cannot make the necessary weatherizing modifications to their own, be it because of income, be it because of building or landlord policies, even buying energy efficient appliances will not secure lower monthly bills. In fact, even having a more energy efficient fridge, air conditioning, or heater will not lessen the burden on lower-income households if their homes are drafty, have mold growing, have little to no insulation. The foregoing will only ensure the heat or cold air to travel to places where it is cold or hot, having appliances run for longer periods of time, and making utility bills count higher.
That said, this report should really be taken into consideration for policy changes in the utility sector, for rate considerations, as well as for considerations in the disparities between different level income households but, more specifically, across race and ethnicity. We should always keep in mind the relationship between energy burden and energy prices as that relationship is one of the major factors for this energy burden. Perhaps future policies should look at ways in which rate per income could be created instead of having one standardized form of pricing. The utility sector could adapt the same philosophies as countries like Denmark, where they calculate fines based on one's income, but apply this philosophy to utility bill payments. As such, families would be paying 2.5% of their income on utilities (all of their utilities), instead of a standardized price that tends to heavily burden those on the lower-income spectrum.
