When the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) launched its Smart Energy Snapshot Series with the “Alleviating Americans’ Energy Burdens” survey in June 2023, American households were dealing with high energy costs as the economy recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.
That survey found that a quarter of all Americans had struggled to pay their electric bills in the past year and that most consumers were unaware of programs that could lower their energy costs.
Two years later, with consumers still dealing with a challenging economic landscape, the “Addressing Energy Affordability” survey posed the same questions to American consumers and revealed that difficulties paying electric bills have only gotten worse. Now, about a third of Americans are struggling with their bills, and awareness of programs and offers remains stagnant.
In this month’s blog, we share three key findings from the latest Snapshot Survey that highlight the difficulties American households are experiencing paying their electric bills:
1. Renters and lower-income households are particularly struggling.
While nearly a third of all Americans are struggling to pay their electric bills, the new survey revealed exacerbated difficulties within the lower-income and renter demographics in particular. For consumers who rent their homes, there was a jump of 14 percentage points from 2023 to now (32 percent vs. 46 percent). And today, about half (49 percent) of consumers making under $50,000 now report difficulties paying their electric bills (34 percent in 2023, an increase of 15 percentage points). Even with moderate-income households – which will explore further next – there was a substantial increase of 12 percentage points over the last two years (22 percent to 34 percent).
2. Moderate-income consumers are increasingly making late and partial payments.
Survey respondents were asked what actions they have taken as a result of struggling with their electric bills, and there was an increase of five percentage points for both making a late payment (37 percent now vs. 32 percent in 2023) and not paying the full amount (27 percent now vs. 22 percent two years ago). While these increases may seem modest, there are some notable findings when looking at consumers making between $50,000 and $100,000 annually. For these consumers, there was an increase of eight percentage points for making late payments and a substantial jump from 18 to 32 percent for making partial payments. Additionally, these moderate-income households are increasingly having to borrow money from friends and family to cover their electric bills – just 11 percent in 2023 to 25 percent today.
3. Knowledge of energy-saving programs from electricity providers is stagnant.
Compared to 2023 levels, consumers’ awareness of programs and offers that could help them lower their electric bills – rebates for energy-efficient appliances, the ability to change rate plans, offers for energy audits, etc. – has largely remained stagnant and has, in some cases, actually decreased. For example, among consumers who have struggled to pay their electric bills, knowledge of the ability to change rate plans has decreased from 22 percent to 17 percent, while awareness of offers for an energy audit has increased by just one percentage point (12 percent to 13 percent). Among all survey respondents, no program or offer tested exceeded 22 percent; however, a quarter of struggling consumers now say that they are aware of demand response programs, a modest silver lining in the findings.
With today’s difficult economic landscape, many American households are struggling to pay their electric bills, including many moderate-income consumers who haven’t experienced these difficulties in the past. Electricity providers have measures to help consumers lower their energy usage and generally have high levels of trust upon which to build stronger consumer relationships. It’s more important than ever before to leverage this to help households rein in their energy expenses.