See how your energy bill will be affected by extreme heat

TThe effects of extreme heat on the human body have been well documented, but rising summer temperatures can also place another type of financial burden on millions of Americans.

In addition to the increased frequency and record temperatures that are characteristic of a heat wave, climate change is also prolonging the duration of a heat wave, and Americans can expect to see energy costs rise along with temperatures.

“There is a cost to climate change,” Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), tells TIME. “As temperatures rise, you need to use more electricity to run your refrigeration systems, and that is becoming more expensive – and will be more expensive – as we go forward.”

The average cost of keeping a home cool in the U.S. is expected to rise nearly 8% this summer. Experts predict that cooling costs will average $719 from June 2024 through September, compared to $661 during the same period last year. according to a report from NEADA and the Center for Energy, Poverty and Climate. It’s an upward trend that has continued over the past decade.

“It’s very difficult to get hit with a big bill,” says UCLA professor Alan Barreca, lead author of a study on the effects of rising summer temperatures and electricity cuts. “You end up thinking, ‘Oh, do I need to cut other expenses or do I just not pay and try to juggle the bills?’”

A 2015 U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) survey shows that about 1 in 5 U.S. households reported reducing or giving up certain necessities, such as food and medicine. to cover the cost of your energy bill. About 14% of households surveyed said they had received a shutdown notice, and just over 1 in 10 said they keep their home at unhealthy or unsafe temperatures to avoid using more energy.

Rising costs are particularly unbearable for low-income families, who, according to the US Department of Energy, spend a highest percentage of your income in household energy costs, or have a higher “energy burden” than others. Families living in the South are disproportionately affected by extreme heat. Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Arkansas top the list of states with the highest energy burden and low income.

A study published in the journal Nature Energy found that low-income households were at greater risk of having their electricity cut off months after temperatures reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to other times of the year. “When people think about extreme heat, they think in a very contemporary way, like, ‘Oh, it’s a hot August. We need to help people in August.’ But the financial difficulties caused by electricity expenses come later, in September and October”, says Barreca.

Some solutions were presented at the federal level through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps low-income families cover heating and cooling costs. But funding for that program was cut by $2 billion for fiscal year 2024.

“The person I think of is the single senior who lives on a fixed income in Southern California and potentially has a Social Security income of $1,500 a month, and there is no room for maneuver,” says Barreca, when explaining who he is most affected by rising electricity costs in summer.

Only 17 states and the District of Columbia have some summer shutdown protections, designed to prevent people from having their power turned off during the hottest months of the year.

Giving up air conditioning can be harmful for many – extreme heat is more deadly than any other weather-related causes of death in the U.S., causing 207 deaths in 2023, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Many states and cities have dealt with extreme heat by creating cooling centers. But presence in these locations may be low, which may pose a threat to your future. Still, critics call cooling centers a short-term solution. “Families cannot go to the library and often their problem is getting there. How do you get to the cooling center?” asks Wolfe.

Advocates call for bigger changes, including more local programs that provide discounted electricity programs for low-income families, and updates to building codes to require air conditioning in apartment units. “You don’t find out that 20% of households in New York don’t have a heating system,” says Wolfe. “This is not possible, it is not permitted by law. But many families don’t have refrigeration. So part of that is catching up.” Wolfe also advocates for increased funding for low-income families to install heat pumps or solar roofs to create more energy-efficient homes.

“We need to think about how to retrofit houses or homes so that they are more energy efficient and require less electricity for cooling,” he adds. “If we just focus on paying the bills… without addressing energy efficiency, then what we do is make the situation even worse, because we are creating more emissions for electricity production that contribute to climate change.”