This report provides a snapshot of energy burdens in cities across the US. It focuses on the high home energy burdens faced by select groups in major metropolitan areas. Years of analysis by the firm of Fisher Sheehan & Colton determined that low-income households pay proportionally more than the average household for energy costs. This analysis builds on this research as it takes a closer look at energy burden in specific household groups. In the first half of this report, data is analyzed from the US Census Bureau’s 2011 and 2013 American Housing Survey to determine energy burden values for 48 of the largest US cities and specific households within each city. In the second half of the report, contributors discuss strategies for alleviating high energy burdens, with a focus on policies and programs to increase the impact of energy efficiency initiatives in these communities.
Ariel Drehobl and Lauren Ross, "Lifting the High Energy Burden in America’s Largest Cities: How Energy Efficiency Can Improve Low Income and Underserved Communities", contributed by Morgan Sarao, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 22 January 2020, accessed 26 April 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/lifting-high-energy-burden-america’s-largest-cities-how-energy-efficiency-can-improve-low
Critical Commentary
This report provides a snapshot of energy burdens in cities across the US. It focuses on the high home energy burdens faced by select groups in major metropolitan areas. Years of analysis by the firm of Fisher Sheehan & Colton determined that low-income households pay proportionally more than the average household for energy costs. This analysis builds on this research as it takes a closer look at energy burden in specific household groups. In the first half of this report, data is analyzed from the US Census Bureau’s 2011 and 2013 American Housing Survey to determine energy burden values for 48 of the largest US cities and specific households within each city. In the second half of the report, contributors discuss strategies for alleviating high energy burdens, with a focus on policies and programs to increase the impact of energy efficiency initiatives in these communities.