Hotter temperatures mean higher utility costs for millions of Americans

As Americans admit Earth Day, consumers whitethorn person noticed 1 effect of climate change: Higher temperatures astir nan U.S. are straining their budgets, and successful immoderate cases moreover forcing families to take betwixt cooling their homes and buying groceries. 

More aggravated power is driving higher power consumption, pinch complete half of U.S. counties facing perchance higher inferior and different related costs, nan Bank of America Institute recovered successful a caller study of its customers' spending patterns. As of March, customers' full monthly inferior bills, including, water, state and electricity, averaged astir $300 — up astir 25% compared pinch 2019.

"As ambiance events and conditions proceed to turn successful wave and intensity, households will apt look further expenditures. For example, households exposed to power waves and higher mean temperatures are much apt to usage aerial conditioning, which could summation their power depletion and associated expenses," nan report's authors wrote.  

Bank of America utilized aggregated and anonymized customer information to way inferior payments and analyse nan maturation successful costs. 

Higher temperatures put lower-income households successful peculiar nether much financial pressure, pinch mean inferior payments for individuals earning little than $50,000 a twelvemonth rising 38% betwixt March 2019 and March 2024. 

That's besides driven by what researchers telephone nan "urban power island" effect. Because low-income group thin to unrecorded successful hotter parts of nan U.S., these households are exposed to much power than higher-income households. In places for illustration Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada, consumers' inferior bills were up by much than 40% successful March compared to nan aforesaid period successful 2019, according to nan report. 

Higher inferior costs are conscionable 1 disbursal that Americans person grappled pinch since ostentation began surging during nan pandemic. And while nan illness has relented, galore consumers stay nether terrible financial pressure. Some 38% of households pinch incomes nether $50,000 opportunity they were incapable to salary a measure aliases to salary it successful afloat astatine slightest erstwhile complete nan past 12 months, according to caller Census data.

Indeed, while aerial conditioning has gone from a luxury to a necessity, not each Americans tin spend to tally their units. 

"We cognize that immoderate group won't move them connected because they're acrophobic of nan bill," Mark Wolfe, executive head of National Energy Assistance Directors' Association, told PapaRead MoneyWatch. 

At nan aforesaid time, old-school approaches to coping pinch power waves are nary longer adequate, experts said. Cooling centers, which tin alleviate discomfort during a short-lived agelong of basking weather, are little effective now that power waves often past overmuch longer than 1 aliases 2 days, Wolfe explained.

"That exemplary doesn't work. You can't person group moving into room for a week — it's a exemplary from decades ago," he said. 

Michael Mendéz, a ambiance alteration interrogator and adjunct professor astatine University of California, Irvine, added that galore communities astir nan state tin spot utmost temperatures for arsenic galore arsenic 10 months a year.

"Because of this, individuals person to salary higher inferior bills to support a comfortable home. Particularly those connected fixed incomes and that are lower-income are making nan prime betwixt keeping their family cooler aliases paying market bills," Mendéz said. So it's having a important effect connected households and their expertise to salary for different basal necessities, for illustration groceries."