If your utility bills have increased, how are you coping with increased expenses? (Q47)

The chart reflects responses to Question #47 from the Winter 2020 survey, which asked “If your utility bills have increased, how are you coping with increased expenses?” This was an open-ended question and there were 65 responses. Responses to this question were thematically coded, with all responses fitting into one of the following themes:

• Just paying for them

• Utility bills haven’t increased or N/A

• Adapting lifestyle to pay for increased expenses

• Paying what they can afford (not paying the bill in its entirety)

• Paying some utilities while not paying others

• Through energy assistance

• Other

The most common themes were “Just paying for them”, with 19 responses falling into this category, and “Adapting lifestyle to pay for increased expenses”, with 19 responses falling into this category. Examples of lifestyle adaptations include cutting back on certain expenses, rearranging one’s budget, and taking money out of one’s savings account in order to cope with increased utility expenses. Twelve responses were categorized as “Paying what they can afford”, eight responses were categorized as “Through energy assistance”, six responses were categorized as “Paying certain utilities while not paying others”, and three responses were categorized as “utility bills haven’t increased or N/A”. Six responses were categorized as “other”, with individuals stating that they are not paying their increased utility bills, or are struggling to pay for them. It’s important to note that some responses contained multiple themes.  

The data was produced by the Shifting Energy Demands in COVID-19 Survey - Overview, which was administered to 83 people over a fourteen week period between December 2020 and March 2021. Visit the Winter 2020 Shifting Energy Demands in COVID-19 - Survey Results page to view more data from our survey. The project is approved by Drexel’s IRB.