New federal figures reveal 1 in 3 US households struggle to pay energy bills, but the reality is likely even worse

Households once confident they could afford energy costs are at risk of falling behind on their bills and are making hard trade-offs to keep the lights on.

By: Diana Hernández, Columbia University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: April 14, 2026

Words: 1,425

Last Updated: 3 months, 2 weeks ago

Body Text Preview

By Diana Hernández, Columbia University

Americans’ concerns about being able to afford electricity and home heating fuel are elevated since the beginning of the Iran war. But newly released nationwide data shows that even before the war began, these concerns were widespread, long-standing and getting worse faster than the data can reflect.

The new information is from preliminary reports based on the Residential Energy Consumption Survey, a representative survey of U.S. …

Create a free account to access this story and more

Join Plucky Wire to access full stories, collaborate with newsrooms, and discover content from networks around the world.

About

FAQ

Email Us