Extreme heat to drive home cooling costs to 10-year high: Report

The average cost of keeping an American home cool from June to September is set to hit $719, nearly 8% higher than last year, according to new projections from advocates for low-income households. That level would be the highest in a decade, and a steep jump from the $573 average in 2021. Organizations distributing federal financial support expect they’ll be able to help roughly 1 million fewer families pay their energy bills this year.

was originally devised to help low-income residents cover their heating bills during cold winter months. But soaring summertime temperatures have added pressure to the program. This year about 80% of its funds will cover heating expenses, leaving just 20% to supplement cooling bills, the advocacy groups estimated. “These estimates could, in fact, understate the final costs of home cooling this summer if temperatures continue to reach record levels,” the report warned.

administrators in many states have been sounding alarms in recent years over higher seasonal temperatures, saying rising summertime demand is outstripping the available funding. Unlike safety-net programs like Medicaid or food stamps, can’t guarantee support to all qualifying households. If demand is too high, funds can simply run out. Brian Sarensen, who manages Washington state’s

aid, previously described “the Catch-22 of trying to provide everything to everybody that needs it, and just not having enough money to do so.” “We may be sacrificing how much heating assistance we give in the winter to hold over for the summer,” he told NBC News last summer, when a series of blistering heat waves drove up air conditioning usage across the country.

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