Americans are getting crushed by inflation across the board, but one area that isn’t regularly addressed is energy prices. CPI data released Friday morning detailed that in the past year, the energy index soared 34.6%. In May alone, the energy index jumped 3.9%, natural gas rose 8% and the electricity index increased 1.3%. Home energy prices, specifically natural gas prices, have been relatively calm over the last 10 years. But since the onset of the pandemic, prices have soared to highs not seen since 2008. And the one-two punch of Covid-related economic hardship and 40-year high inflation has left millions unable to pay their utility bill.
During the heat of the pandemic, many states put protections in place for consumers that were falling behind on their payments to not lose energy. However, as of May 1, those protections have expired — leaving millions at risk. Mark Wolfe, the executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), tells Select that the average American energy debt is roughly $1,000 — with some families falling even further behind. And the sum of Americans’ total utility debt was recorded at about $23 billion at the end of Feb. 2022, according to NEADA (Wolfe tells Select it’s now closer to $22 billion), adding on to the accruing debt consumers are working to pay back.
Utility bills are on the rise, just like nearly everything else. And while Americans try to cut back on expenses as much as possible, home energy is something we all must pay. So if you’re finding yourself unable to pay, don’t put it off until it’s too late.
https://www.cnbc.com/select/where-to-find-help-with-late-utility-bills/
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