Workshops

Utility Disconnections Community of Scholars, June 2026

The Energy Justice Lab organized a "Community of Scholars" that consisted of academics and other researchers working on topics connected to utility disconnections. Participating scholars agreed to draft and present a research paper that focused on utility disconnections, and to further engage with other members of the community. 
Our goal was to encourage new innovative research on utility disconnections and related subjects, foster new collaborations among scholars and between scholars and practitioners, and generate new findings that can advance basic research and evidence-based policy. 
This workshop was generously funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. 
The papers presented at the workshop included:
Water Affordability and Rate Assistance: Evidence from Overdue Water Bills
Mehdi Nemati, University of California Riverside
 
Challenges to Water Access: Analyzing the Prevalence and Drivers of Water Disconnections in Wisconsin
Elizabeth Spink, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
 
Assessing the Health Impacts of Utility Hardship: Patient-Level Evidence
Michelle Graff, Georgia Institute of Technology
 
Ending Utility Shut-Offs and Building Long-Term Energy Affordability in Public Power: Lessons from the Knoxville Water and Energy for All Percent-of-Income Payment Plan Pilot
Nikki Luke, University of Tennessee
 
Beyond the Bill: A Research Agenda for Understanding Water Utility Shutoffs and Household Debt Post-Pandemic
Gregory Pierce, University of California Los Angeles
 
Prevalence and Impacts of Shutoffs Among Municipal Utilities in the U.S.
Justin Schott, Energy Equity Project
 
Redlined and Disconnected: Historic Discrimination and Modern-Day Energy Insecurity Disparities in Minnesota's Twin Cities
William Arent, Tufts University
 
What's in a Safety Net?: Community-Based Mixed-Methods Research on Energy Insecurity Resourcing and Care in Northern New England
Adamari Benavidez, Dartmouth College
 
Temperature, Mortality, and Access to Utilities
Emmett Reynier, Stanford University
 
Utility Disconnections, Racial Disparities, and Tree Canopy Coverage: An Empirical Evaluation in Seven U.S. States
Trevor Memmott, University of Massachusetts Boston
 
Evaluating Emergency Department Utilization Following Water Disconnection: A Matched Patient-Day Analysis in an Urban Pediatric Setting
Rebecca Pepe, University of Pennsylvania
 
Energy Insecurity and Chronic Disease Burden: An Analysis of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2022-2023
Joniqua Caesar, University of Pennsylvania

Energy Insecurity and Utility Disconnections Research Workshop, May 2021

2021 workshop logo
The virtual workshop included the presentations of five research papers on energy poverty, energy insecurity, and utility disconnections. 
Participants represented a range of government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and research institutions.
The papers presented at the workshop included:
Energy Poverty: Measuring and Planning
Destenie Nock, Carnegie Mellon University
A Multidimensional Approach to Energy and Equity: Exploring Energy Poverty Recognition and Response in the U.S.
Dominic Bednar, University of Michigan
The Incidence of Extreme Economic Stress: Evidence from Utility Disconnections
Steve Cicala, Tufts University
The Effect of Utility Disconnection Moratoriums on Household Energy and Financial Insecurity
Trevor Memmott, Indiana University
Housing Precarity & the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts of Utility Disconnection and Eviction Moratoria on Infections and Deaths across US Counties
Kay Jowers, Duke University

Energy Justice Workshop, May 2019