{"id":5967,"date":"2026-05-12T16:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T20:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weact.org\/?post_type=update&p=5967"},"modified":"2026-05-12T16:19:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T20:19:48","slug":"when-energy-costs-are-exploding-and-how-we-build-a-future-where-every-community-thrives","status":"publish","type":"update","link":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/updates\/when-energy-costs-are-exploding-and-how-we-build-a-future-where-every-community-thrives\/","title":{"rendered":"When Energy Costs Are Exploding \u2013 and How We Build a Future Where Every Community Thrives"},"template":"","class_list":["post-5967","update","type-update","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","update_type-blog","focus_tax-energy-justice","person_tax-anastasia-gordon","person_tax-tuesday-jenkins"],"acf":{"details":{"":null,"featured_image":5970,"update_type":[364],"focus_area":[7],"authors":[226,436],"abstract":"Energy costs are on everyone\u2019s mind right now. If your electricity bills have gone up, you\u2019re not alone. Despite campaigning on energy affordability, the Trump administration\u2019s policies have instead pushed millions more people into energy debt. <\/span>But there is a solution: energy\u2011efficiency upgrades and renewable energy.<\/span>"},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_hero_links","acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_hero_links":{"title":"","abstract":"","links":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"\"\"\r\n\r\nEnergy costs are on everyone\u2019s mind right now. If your electricity bills have gone up, you\u2019re not alone. Residential electric bills rose 13 percent<\/a> in just one year, and with ongoing global conflicts<\/a> and rapid expansion of energy-hungry data centers<\/a>, communities across the country are paying the price. On average households are spending more than 6 percent<\/a> of their income on energy, while one in six<\/a> have fallen behind on their energy bills. For low-income families and communities of color, that figure almost doubles \u2014\u00a0 costing households 10 percent<\/a> of what they earn.\r\n\r\nIn New York State, where we are based, one in four households are at least 60 days behind on their energy bills, and nearly $2 billion in utility debt is weighing down families struggling to survive. In New York City, two out of every five residents have fallen at least two months behind on their energy bills, with Black and Latinx households being more than twice as likely to fall behind \u2013 and nearly eight times as likely to have their utilities shut off.\r\n\r\nIn real life, these statistics look like Darlene Jenkins<\/a> \u2014 a Maryland caretaker living on $800 a month, $2,500 in debt to her utility company, and is one shutoff notice away from losing housing for herself, her disabled daughter, and her six-year-old grandson. Her story isn\u2019t the exception; it\u2019s the norm for millions of low-income households and people of color.\r\n\r\nDespite campaigning on energy affordability, the Trump administration\u2019s policies have instead pushed even more people towards a similar fate to Darlene. But there is a solution: energy\u2011efficiency upgrades and renewable energy. They not only lower energy bills but also improve indoor air quality and health, and make homes more resilient to increasingly extreme weather.\r\n\r\nEnergy inequity is growing and will be one of the greatest challenges of our generation. At similar incomes, Black households spend over 5 percent of their income compared to the 3.2 percent of income in white households<\/a>. That gap is not a coincidence, it is a result of decades of disinvestment resulting in historically underserved communities living in older, less efficient housing. Low-income households and people of color also disproportionately face the worst impacts of the climate crisis<\/a>, including extreme weather.\r\n\r\nThis past winter\u2019s cold front left seven New Yorkers dead<\/a> - a result of freezing temperatures caused by lack of heat and unsafe heating conditions in some of the nation\u2019s oldest, most poorly maintained buildings. These are tragic and predictable outcomes when the most climate-vulnerable are also the most energy- and housing-insecure. With this spring already among the hottest on record,<\/a> environmental justice communities - those made up of mostly people of color and lower income - are being forced into impossible choices. No one should have to choose between keeping the lights on and heating or cooling their homes to survive deadly extreme weather or paying rent, eating, and getting essential medicine.\r\n

In an era of accelerating climate impacts and entrenched inequities, energy affordability is no longer just a utility bill issue or energy problem \u2014 it\u2019s a public health and human rights crisis that demands real policy solutions. <\/strong><\/h4>\r\nWith these urgent everyday realities as the backdrop, the Trump administration has taken policy actions that leave the most vulnerable communities facing even higher energy costs, increased pollution, and more susceptible to extreme weather. Executive Orders (e.g., Executive Orders 14156<\/a> and 14154<\/a>) have aimed to expedite fossil fuel projects, while unlawfully terminating Justice40 and other environmental justice investments<\/a>. They also rescind key Inflation Reduction Act<\/a> (IRA) climate programs and incentives, including rebates that help low- and moderate-income households afford energy efficiency and clean energy upgrades like heat pumps, insulation, and electrical panel improvements.\r\n\r\nThe presidential federal budget once again proposes to eliminate critical and popular programs, including the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) and Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). For example, polling data shows that the vast majority (75 percent) of Americans support LIHEAP<\/a> \u2013 WE ACT\u2019s own polling<\/a> similarly reveals that bi-partisan voters nationwide support the program. These programs help low-income households pay their energy bills, receive heating and cooling relief, and make their homes more energy efficient. Zeroing them out completely leaves thousands without the support they need to stay safe, healthy, and housed.\r\n\r\nCongressional Republicans have continued advancing policies aligned with the current administration\u2019s prioritization of fossil fuel profits over the needs of everyday people. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act alone clawed back more than $5 billion<\/a> in unobligated IRA clean\u2011energy funds. Even as one\u2011third <\/a>of voters <\/a>are uncertain about being able to afford their next energy bill, Republicans are pushing legislation aimed at blocking or rolling back federal energy\u2011efficiency and electrification requirements.\r\n\r\nFrom the H.R.3699: Energy Choice Act<\/a>, and H.R.4758: Homeowner Energy Freedom Act<\/a>, to H.R.5184 Affordable Housing Over Mandating Efficiency Standards<\/a> Act, and H.R.4626 Don\u2019t Mess With My Home Appliances Act<\/a> their goal is clear: stop federal agencies from moving us towards cheaper, cleaner technologies. These bills would let gas stoves, furnaces and boilers, water heaters, air conditioners, and other appliances avoid efficiency rules and building standards that encourage electrification or higher energy performance. With the exception of the Energy Choice Act, these bills have passed the House and are headed to the Republican majority Senate. If passed, the result will be weakening efficiency standards that increase energy costs, slow progress on reducing pollution, and locking communities into older, dirtier technologies.\r\n\r\nOur homes are full of appliances that burn fossil fuels. Since we spend 90 percent of our time indoors,<\/a> we end up breathing the harmful air pollutants they release, such as nitrogen oxides and fine particulates, which are linked to asthma, heart and lung disease, and other serious health impacts. People of color and low\u2011income households are more likely to live in older, poorly maintained buildings with outdated, inefficient appliances\u2014conditions that make these issues worse. Simply being home is a health risk. Research shows that pollution from gas stoves<\/a> and other fossil fuel equipment like furnaces combined with inadequate ventilation disproportionately expose low\u2011income and communities of color to dangerous levels of indoor air pollution.\r\n\r\nFor these communities, energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades are not luxuries\u2014they are essential. Everyone deserves a safe, healthy home - the challenge is access. High upfront costs and limited control over efficiency improvements or energy infrastructure make cost-saving energy efficiency and appliance upgrades out of reach for environmental justice communities, especially for renters<\/a>.\r\n\r\nAddressing these barriers is central to advancing healthy homes and equitable building decarbonization. Targeted policies and public programs are critical and transformational for communities most affected by the trifecta of climate impacts, energy burdens, and housing inequities. WE ACT\u2019s Healthy Homes First campaign<\/a> is a bold move in the right direction, advancing principles<\/a> that affirm every person\u2019s right to live in a home that is safe, healthy, affordable, and resilient as we transition toward zero\u2011emission buildings.\r\n\r\nThere are policy solutions that put these equitable decarbonization principles into practice. Congressional leaders have been stepping up with legislation like the Energy Bills Relief Act (EBRA<\/a>). The bill is designed to lower energy bills by improving energy efficiency, increasing access to affordable renewable energy, and upgrading the electric grid to deliver cheaper, more reliable power. EBRA seeks to restore clean energy and energy efficiency tax credits as well as expand bill assistance and energy efficiency programs, including LIHEAP and WAP. These lifeline programs are vital for low-income households like Darlene, providing needed benefits as the overlapping energy-affordability, housing, and climate crises intensify.\r\n\r\nHowever, both LIHEAP and WAP are chronically underfunded, oversubscribed, and face barriers that limit eligible households from accessing these programs, including eligibility inequities<\/a> and pre-existing health and structural hazards<\/a> - a particular challenge for low-income and people of color living in older, substandard rental units. EBRA offers tangible pathways to address these barriers. Appropriation committees have also worked to protect and even increase funding for LIHEAP and WAP despite the President\u2019s budget proposal to eliminate the programs for 2026. WE ACT is pushing to ensure they do the same for 2027<\/a>!\r\n\r\nStates must also act. In New York, WE ACT championed the Green Affordable Pre-Electrification Fund (GAP) Fund<\/a>, a $2 million pilot program included in the state fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget to help low-income households address health and safety repairs that block access from energy affordability programs. While we continue advocating for more and\u00a0 sustained funding for the GAP Fund, we are also fighting for $3 billion in the FY 2027 Sustainable Future Fund<\/a> -\u00a0 a major climate, clean energy, and green infrastructure investment initiative. This is a significant increase from the Governor\u2019s $1 billion budget proposal<\/a>.\r\n\r\nAlongside this advocacy, WE ACT helps residents, community groups, and small businesses lower utility bills, improve indoor air quality and access low- or no-cost energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy upgrades and workforce training through the Manhattan Clean Energy Hub<\/a>. Together these efforts create the policies and investments needed to deliver long-term energy savings and healthier and resilient homes for communities facing the greatest pollution, energy costs, and climate impacts.\r\n\r\nEnergy costs are at an all-time high, and the affordability crisis is only going to get worse with intensifying climate disasters, global conflicts, and data centers driving prices higher. Millions of families, especially low-income households and people of color, are already struggling to keep the lights on and bear the greatest burdens, from energy to pollution exposure to climate impacts.\r\n\r\nBut policy solutions exist! Energy efficiency upgrades and transitioning away from fossil fuel appliances and energy remain the strongest defense, creating safer, healthier, more affordable and resilient homes for everyone. By taking action together, we can build this equitable and just clean energy future where all communities can breathe cleaner air, afford to live without sacrifice or suffering, and thrive for generations to come.\r\n

What Can You Do?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h2>\r\n1) Engage your elected officials. Tell your federal representatives to endorse key legislation like EBRA and fight for increased funding for safety net programs such LIHEAP and WAP to help the most vulnerable weather the energy affordability, housing, and climate crises. And tell your local representatives to demand more funding for these programs and make it easier for people to apply. And locally you can fight for equitable climate adaptation legislation like New York City\u2019s Maximum Indoor Air Temperature Bill<\/a>.\r\n\r\n2) Learn more about assistance programs and share with your neighbors so more families can get help to lower their bills, and access life-saving heating and cooling relief. In New York, for example, you can apply for the State\u2019s Cooling Assistance Program<\/a>.\r\n\r\n3) Push local leaders to expand low- to no-cost energy efficiency and renewable energy investments, especially for socially vulnerable communities. Our Healthy Homes First principles<\/a> include some great recommendations!\r\n\r\n4) Support<\/a> organizations like WE ACT and our partners that are fighting for healthy homes and equitable building decarbonization at every level.","include_drop_cap":false}}]},"yoast_head":"\nWhen Energy Costs Are Exploding \u2013 and How We Build a Future Where Every Community Thrives - WE ACT for Environmental Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/updates\/when-energy-costs-are-exploding-and-how-we-build-a-future-where-every-community-thrives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When Energy Costs Are Exploding \u2013 and How We Build a Future Where Every Community Thrives - WE ACT for Environmental Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/updates\/when-energy-costs-are-exploding-and-how-we-build-a-future-where-every-community-thrives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WE ACT for Environmental Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-12T20:19:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Energy-Affordability-Blog-Graphic-1400-alt.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/when-energy-costs-are-exploding-and-how-we-build-a-future-where-every-community-thrives\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/when-energy-costs-are-exploding-and-how-we-build-a-future-where-every-community-thrives\/\",\"name\":\"When Energy Costs Are Exploding \u2013 and How We Build a Future Where Every Community Thrives - 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