30% of New Yorkers are energy insecure while ConEd energy rates spike by $31 per month on average
Trump aims to slash the Low Income Heating & Energy Assistance Program and the ENERGY STAR programs that save household energy costs
As summer temperatures begin to rise, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander published a new report, Record Highs: Tackling Energy Insecurity in the Heat of the Climate Crisis, warning that New Yorkers are on the brink of a utility bill affordability crisis. Rate hikes coupled with increased heat waves brought on by climate change are hurting families’ bottom lines; worse, the Trump Administration called for cancelling both the Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the ENERGY STAR program, two federal initiatives that reduce household energy costs.
“The summer season is upon us and so are heatwaves and high utility bills,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. “Millions of New Yorkers will have to decide between paying for air conditioning, rent, or putting food on the table, and as a result, hundreds could die from preventable heatstroke. With Trump shutting off energy assistance programs, states and cities need to power up to make energy more affordable by curbing energy rate hikes, prioritizing financial supports like the NY HEAT Act, and expanding alternative affordable public power through renewables and solar.”
2024 was the hottest year on record. By 2080, New York City could experience ten heat waves each summer and see six times more days above 90°F. Hotter summers drive up the need for air conditioning, increasing the costs of cooling costs by more than 50% in the last decade. Citywide, 11% of New Yorkers do not have air conditioners at home.
The growing frequency and severity of heat waves is not only a financial concern, each year, 580 New Yorkers die prematurely due to extreme heat. The ability to afford air conditioning can be a matter of life or death: 42% of the people who died at home during extreme heat had air conditioners that were not working or in use, while 58% had no air conditioning at all.
In the last five years, 3.5 million New Yorkers fell behind on utility payments and 1.9 million households experienced utility shutoffs because they could not pay their bills. Utility debt has doubled since before the pandemic. Energy insecurity is even higher for low-income, Black, and Latino New Yorkers, who are eight times as likely to have utilities shut off than white and affluent New Yorkers.
Even with the current state of climate and energy insecurity, New Yorkers may see even steeper increases in basic utility costs:
- ConEd’s proposed electricity rate hike would raise the average household electricity bill by $31 per month, or $372 year.
- Trump’s proposed termination of the LIHEAP program would leave over a million households in New York City struggling to afford the basic costs of energy.
- LIHEAP benefits already fell far short of addressing the energy bill needs of New Yorkers. Due to limited funding, only half of eligible households receive assistance—and while the program may cover the cost of an air conditioner, State restrictions prohibit any help with the cost of running it.
- Trump’s proposed elimination of ENERGY STAR could increase average household energy costs by $450 annually.
To combat rising energy costs and heat, the report recommends:
- Limiting rate increases, while strengthening and expanding the New York State Energy Affordability Program to ensure that any increases are fair and necessary and to enable more customers to access financial support.
- Passing the NY HEAT Act, which would end the expansion of gas infrastructure and cap the utility bills of low- and moderate-income New Yorkers across the State to 6% of household income.
- Establishing a Right to Cooling that requires landlords to maintain a minimum indoor air temperature during hot summer months by providing air conditioners for heat-vulnerable tenants.
- Expanding public power for clean, affordable energy through the City’s new Public Solar NYC initiative and increase renewable energy projects through New York Power Authority (NYPA).
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