Utility affordability is moving from a seasonal hardship issue to a year-round consumer finance problem, with implications for creditors, collectors, utilities, and anyone tracking household budget stress.
Two new reports point to the same pressure point: consumers are paying more for essential utility service at the same time that extreme heat is making electricity access harder to treat as optional. The National Consumer Law Center’s July 2026 update says unaffordability of essential utility service remains a problem for nearly 33% of the U.S. population, with lower-income households, renters, households with children, and Black and Hispanic households reporting higher rates of energy insecurity.
The report argues that states need stronger shutoff protections as climate change increases the health risks tied to losing electricity. While winter disconnection moratoria are common, NCLC says far fewer states protect consumers from shutoffs during extreme heat, even as vulnerable groups, including older adults, families with children, and people with medical conditions, face heightened risk during heat waves.
The affordability problem is not abstract. The North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center reported that the national average price of residential electricity rose about 7.3% from April 2025 to April 2026, reaching 18.83 cents per kilowatt-hour. It also found that low-income households spend an average of 17.8% of their income on energy bills and transportation fuel, more than three times the national average.
That pressure is showing up in household tradeoffs. NCCETC cited a 2023 Census survey finding that 27% of households reported some form of energy insecurity and about 30% gave up basic necessities to pay an energy bill. Recent survey results also suggest more than half of households have seen electricity bills increase, with 31% reporting increases of more than $50 per month.
States are responding, but unevenly. NCCETC tracked 362 energy affordability actions as of June 2026 across 46 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The most common actions involved customer cost allocation, utility oversight and cost recovery, and studies or investigations.
NCLC is calling for calendar-based and temperature-based shutoff bans, reconnection rights during extreme weather, year-round protections for at-risk households, longer deferred payment arrangements, limits on late fees and deposits, and more public reporting of arrearages and disconnections.
Read the NCLC Report. Read the affordability report
