News

Energy Poverty and Utility Disconnections in the United States, with Sanya Carley

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

RESOURCES RADIO––Episode 312: Carley discusses the problem of utility disconnections, which occurs when a utility turns off a household's water, electricity, or heat; the potentially risky strategies that households employ to avoid shutoffs by reducing energy consumption and costs; the groups that are most vulnerable to disconnection; and potential improvements to government programs that help low-income households pay utility bills. 

In Tennessee, Climbing Utility Rates and More than 140,000 Household Cut-Offs in 2023

Saturday, December 28, 2024

INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS––Utility rates have increased nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as more states enact legislation suspending disconnections during heat waves, Tennessee remains an outlier.

93F and no electricity: why some US utilities can cut power despite heatwaves

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

THE GUARDIAN––In 27 states, utilities can disconnect power for non-payment on the hottest days, which an have deadly consequences.

Americans face sky-high energy bills amid extreme heat

Sunday, September 01, 2024

PBS NEWS HOUR––As summer temperatures have soared across the nation, so have electric bills as air conditioners work overtime. Every year, nearly 3 million American households have their electricity shut off because of unpaid bills. We hear from people dealing with this issue and John Yang speaks with Sanya Carley, professor of energy policy and city planning at the University of Pennsylvania, to learn more.

Behind on electric bills? A spike in disconnections has the state seeking solutions

Thursday, August 22, 2024

HAWAI'I PUBLIC RADIO––A spike in disconnections has the state seeking solutions. About 6,000 households had their power cut in 2023 due to missed payments, according to the state Public Utilities Commission. Are you having trouble affording your electric bill? You're not alone.

The fight to make landlords turn down the thermostat

Thursday, July 25, 2024

THE WASHINGTON POST––As heat waves intensify in a warming world and a growing body of research shows the deadly effects of extreme heat, some renters, politicians, tenant advocates and environmental health experts are pushing for stronger hot weather protections, such as requiring rental units to be cooled to a certain temperature.

America faces a power disconnection crisis amid dangerous heat: In 27 states, utilities can shut off electricity for nonpayment even in a heat wave

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

THE CONVERSATION––Energy utility providers in 2022 shut off electricity to at least 3 million customers who had missed a bill payment. Over 30% of these disconnections happened in the three summer months, during a year that was among the hottest on record. In some cases, the loss of service lasted for just a few hours. But in others, people went without electricity for days or weeks while scrambling to find enough money to restore service, often only to face disconnection again.

The US is failing renters during extreme heat waves

Friday, July 12, 2024

VOX––Roughly 13 percent of US households lack air conditioning, with renters more likely to go without than homeowners. The consequences of that lack have been increasingly evident in recent years, with multiple cities like Phoenix recording record-high deaths from heat.

Extreme heat is turning electricity cutoffs into new political battle for power companies

Friday, June 21, 2024

CNBC––Extreme heat is turning electricity cutoffs into new political crisis for power companies. At least three million U.S. utility customers have their power disconnected each year, an issue which is receiving new political scrutiny due to heat waves and climate change.

Indiana should protect customers from utility shut-offs during extreme heat

Monday, June 17, 2024

INDIANA CAPITAL CHRONICLE––With temperatures forecasted this summer to be well above normal, it is imperative that the General Assembly and Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission take immediate steps to protect Hoosiers from losing access to the energy they need to maintain safe and comfortable temperatures in their homes.

A lack of data hampers efforts to fix racial disparities in utility cutoffs

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

GRIST––A Minnesota study found customers in communities of color are three times more likely than others to have their electricity cut off, highlighting a hidden nationwide problem. 

Millions struggle to pay AC bills in heat waves. Federal aid reaches only a fraction

Wednesday, August 09, 2023

ASSOCIATED PRESS––Americans forego basic necessities to pay electric bills to cover air conditioning expenses during the worst heat waves on record; meanwhile, federal aid programs, including the Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) reach only a fraction of customers in need.

As extreme heat lingers, millions of U.S. households face a utility shutoff crisis

Friday, July 07, 2023

NPR––Americans are preparing for more extreme heat just a few days after the hottest day ever recorded; meanwhile, the U.S. is in the middle of a utility disconnection crisis.

New dashboard highlights utility disconnections nationwide

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

INDIANA CAPITAL CHRONICLE––AES Indiana, one of the Indiana’s “big five” investor-owned utility companies, logged the state’s top residential disconnection rate in data from an Indiana University dashboard launched Friday.

Ohio advocates say there’s still a need to knock on doors before utility shutoffs

Friday, January 14, 2022

ENERGY NEWS NETWORK––Technology no longer requires utilities to dispatch a service worker to shut off a customer’s power. Consumer advocates, though, say regulators should still require an in-person visit before companies turn off electricity.

Home heating bills expected to increase

Monday, November 08, 2021

FOX59––Sanya Carley explains to Fox59 News Correspondent how Indiana residents can prepare for the worst effects of winter, including increased energy bills.

The impact of American energy insecurity

Thursday, October 28, 2021

FINANCIAL TIMES––More than a quarter of American households with children struggled to pay their energy bills at least once in the past year, says US Census Household Pulse Survey data released last week.

More people unable to pay utility bills, with colder months coming

Friday, November 13, 2020

NPR MARKETPLACE––As temperatures drop, unemployment remains high, and additional pandemic relief aid is stalled, activists warn about an energy crisis: a growing number of Americans are unable to pay utility bills.

A 'tidal wave' of power cuts may be coming as electric companies resume shutoffs

Monday, August 31, 2020

TIME––As utility companies resume cutting power to customers who have fallen behind on their bills, residents in Ohio, Florida, Maryland, Indiana, and Illinois are at risk of shutoffs as early as September 2020. Shutoffs can resume in late September or October in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.