Summer electric bills sizzle as the cost of cooling climbs

Temperatures are climbing and electricity prices are rising, creating higher summer utility bills. Climate scientists expect the hottest summer on record or near it, increasing the amount of electricity families need for cooling. NEADA projects average electricity bills will be 8.5% higher than last summer, with larger increases in some Southern states. In hot, humid areas such as near Houston, even well-insulated homes can see air-conditioning bills exceed $300 per month. Households respond by reducing spending on groceries, dining out, and other activities. Some residents take additional steps to cover costs, including donating plasma, while budgeting becomes more difficult for families with young children. Electricity prices per kilowatt-hour have risen faster than inflation, increasing more than 6% in the last year and 39% over five years.

""Climate scientists think this could be the hottest summer on record or at least close to it," says Mark Wolfe, who heads the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA). "So families need to use more of an increasingly expensive product to stay cool this summer. And that's going to be tough." NEADA is projecting that electricity bills will be 8.5% higher this summer than last, on average, with residents in some Southern states seeing even bigger increases."

""It's very difficult to come here and try to breathe with this kind of humidity and hot weather," Westphal says. Even though her home is insulated well, Westphal says, her summer air-conditioning bills topped $300 a month last year. She's bracing for higher-priced power this year, so she and her husband are cutting corners elsewhere. "We might not be able to spend as much at the grocery store," says Westphal, a third-grade math teacher."

"In northwest Arkansas, seminary student Matthew Kolb has taken to donating plasma twice a week to help cover his bills, which include about $250 a month for electricity. Kolb says money is tight even though he has a full-time job and serves in the Army Reserve. "We have two kids under 2," Kolb says, noting that his wife and older daughter are especially sensitive to the heat. "Higher utilities in the summer always stretches us a little bit and makes budgeting a little more of a complicated feat.""

"Nationwide, the cost of a kilowatt-hour has risen faster than overall inflation: more than 6% in the last year and 39% in the last five years."

Read at www.npr.org