Comfort or cash? Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on energy insecurity and energy-limiting behavior in households

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the incidence of energy poverty in the US. Existing literature mainly captures financial indicators of energy poverty during the pandemic, mainly inability to pay energy bills and disconnection of utility service. However, financial indicators alone cannot identify the full extent of energy poverty, as they miss out on energy limiting behavior. In this study, we conducted a survey eleven months into the COVID-19 pandemic in two US cities to identify how people's energy behaviors have changed during the pandemic. The survey collected information on subjective indicators of energy poverty, including perceived household energy limit, ability to cool home in the summer, and perceived tradeoff between energy consumption and other necessities. Overall, we found lower-income households reported disproportionately worse and worsened energy poverty status before and during the pandemic, where they were worse off to begin with, and experienced disproportionally negative effects during the pandemic, 33 % more than higher-income households. Comparing results from two survey regions, we saw 27 % of respondents in both Chicago and Phoenix report difficulty cooling their homes during the summer in 2019, despite Chicago only having <25 % of Phoenix's cooling degree days. To effectively eradicate energy poverty and energy insecurity, regions need measures to clearly identify energy limiting households and target them with energy assistance. We conclude that comprehensively understanding the energy needs of local populations is key to providing timely, sufficient, human-centered assistance during disasters and beyond.