Fragility of income and a high energy burden have as much to do with quality of housing stock as they do with ability to pay bills. In rural and core urban areas, lower income people tend to occupy older homes that have structural deficits and more equipment or system breakdowns and are unable to front the costs for routine maintenance and repairs which only exacerbates the problem further. Though a number of utility payment assistance programs exist, very few deal with more complicated home repairs. This article illustrates the problem of energy burden, poverty and poor housing stock in Pittsburgh, Pa and explores some of the prescriptive programs engaged in fighting the problem.
Kate Giammarise, "Energy Drain: Low Income Households Typically Pay a Higher Percentage for Utilities", contributed by Roya Haider, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 11 June 2020, accessed 26 April 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/energy-drain-low-income-households-typically-pay-higher-percentage-utilities
Critical Commentary
Fragility of income and a high energy burden have as much to do with quality of housing stock as they do with ability to pay bills. In rural and core urban areas, lower income people tend to occupy older homes that have structural deficits and more equipment or system breakdowns and are unable to front the costs for routine maintenance and repairs which only exacerbates the problem further. Though a number of utility payment assistance programs exist, very few deal with more complicated home repairs. This article illustrates the problem of energy burden, poverty and poor housing stock in Pittsburgh, Pa and explores some of the prescriptive programs engaged in fighting the problem.