Christine Ho, christine.ho@sierraclub.org
Washington, D.C. - Today, Sierra Club released new analysis and interactive dashboard that shows the staggeringly high energy burden low-income households are facing across the country.
Sierra Club’s analysis shows that low-income households face the heaviest energy burdens. The Department of Energy defines a high energy burden as spending 6 percent or more of income on energy costs, and a severe energy burden as spending 10 percent or more. When the analysis reviewed low-income households, it shows that some families are spending nearly 13 percent of their household income on energy costs.
Studies show that renewable energy produces more reliable energy at a lower cost compared to coal or gas power plants. Since taking office, Donald Trump and his administration have slashed billions of dollars in federal funding for renewable energy and instead have been bailing out the fossil fuel industry with government handouts, shortcuts, and pollution passes. The administration has also launched attacks on the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, further exacerbating the affordability crisis for low-income households.
“Americans have a clear message for Donald Trump: energy costs are too damn high,” said Sierra Club Beyond Coal Director Laurie Williams. “What’s worse is that families who are making the least are being impacted the most by Donald Trump’s affordability crisis. Donald Trump promised Americans he would work to lower the cost of living, but the only thing he has achieved is lining the pockets of fossil fuel executives.”
“While renewable energy continues to outperform fossil fuels in reliability, public health, and cost, the Trump administration refuses to look at the facts and instead is bolstering more expensive fossil fuels,” Laurie Williams added. “His policies only benefit his buddies in the fossil fuel industry, and every day Americans are left to fend for themselves as we experience extreme temperatures more and more frequently. The Sierra Club will continue to push for common sense clean energy solutions that lower the cost of energy and put us on a path to an affordable and clean future.”
“The Energy Burden Dashboard makes clear just how much Americans are struggling with rising energy costs,” said Rep. Sean Casten. “The Trump administration is making matters worse by consistently prioritizing fossil fuel company profits over lower prices for consumers. If the president truly cared about cutting energy bills, he would focus on expanding access to affordable, reliable renewable energy. That’s the kind of pro-consumer policy Americans need — one that benefits both our wallets and our planet.”
“Energy costs are climbing at unsustainable rates and families are struggling to keep up as costs rise across the board. This administration's war on clean energy is only making it harder to bring those costs down,” said Rep. Mike Levin. “This new energy burden dashboard from the Sierra Club will be essential in understanding and visualizing the affordability crisis Americans are facing. I look forward to working with the Sierra Club to bring down energy costs for all Americans.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.