As the nation swelters through the hottest part of the summer, energy insecurity continues to be a growing problem, one that leads to myriad health problems, especially for those struggling to pay their bills.
Lynton K. Caldwell Professor David Konisky of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, who also is co-director of the Energy Justice Lab at IU, says most people don’t quite understand the scope of the energy insecurity issue. Konisky and his colleagues have set up a dashboard at UtilityDisconnections.org that shines a light on the crisis.
“This is happening to millions of households across the country on an annual basis,” Konisky said during an appearance on the O’Neill Speaks podcast, the official podcast of the O’Neill School. “(Disconnections are) not a small problem. This is a big problem, particularly for low-income households.”
Temperatures rising to dangerous levels creates a higher demand for energy not only to maintain comfort but also for health reasons. However, that higher demand means higher costs, and users are forced to balance everyday needs with their energy requirements, which can lead to negative impacts.
“It’s not just about maintaining indoor temperatures,” Konisky said. “It’s keeping your food refrigerated. For people who require electronic medical devices, (energy) is essential for life-saving care. People have devices where they need electricity in order to sustain themselves. Increasingly, kids who are doing remote schooling have to be on iPads or other devices. What research has shown is that when people are energy insecure, they’re more likely to experience all types of adverse health consequences, both physical and mental. When you go without reliable energy, it creates an unhealthy environment in the home.”
Konisky would like to see better regulations on when utilities can disconnect homes as well as campaigns for awareness around programs designed to help consumers pay their utility bills.
“The real challenge and real obligation and something that we should insist that utilities do is make more information available to their customers about what payment arrangements might be possible,” Konisky said. “Are there ways to lower people’s energy costs, so they don’t get into situation to begin with? Community organizations can provide more information about what programs are available. We don’t do a great job of enhancing awareness around these kinds of resources, and that’s an area where I think we can make lots of improvements. … Outreach from community organizations, local government, from utilities themselves to give people a sense of what’s possible, what their rights are, what protections might actually already exist for them in terms of not being disconnected.”
O’Neill Speaks can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast service.
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