Thirty one percent of American households reported challenges in paying energy bills, or sustaining adequate heating and cooling in their homes in 2015, the U.S.' Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.
'According to the most recent results from EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) [for 2015], about one in five households reported reducing or forgoing necessities such as food and medicine to pay an energy bill, and 14 percent reported receiving a disconnection notice for energy services,' the administration said.
While 25 million households in the U.S. reported forsaking food and medicine to pay energy bills, seven million of those faced this decision nearly every month, the EIA reported.
Out of the 17 million households who reported receiving a disconnection notice, two million reported receiving a notice nearly every month, it added.
Some American households also used less energy than they preferred, according to the EIA, which said, '11 percent of households surveyed reported keeping their home at an unhealthy or unsafe temperature.'
In addition, households have reported the possibility of losing the use of heating or air-conditioning equipment entirely, the EIA said.
'This situation can occur when equipment breaks and a household cannot afford to fix it or when a household cannot afford fuel for their equipment,' it explained.
While seven million households, or six percent of the national total, reported the inability to use heating equipment because of financial constraints at some point in 2015, six million, or five percent, of households reported the loss of air conditioning, according to the EIA.
'Households that included children, that had residents who identified with a minority racial group or as Hispanic, or that were classified as low income experienced more energy insecurity,' the administration said.
While around half of U.S. households that have less than $20,000 per year income faced energy insecurity in 2015, 40 percent of households that have one or more children also had energy insecurity, according to the EIA data.
More than 50 percent of black or African-American households, and more than 40 percent of Hispanic or Latino households faced energy insecurity in 2015, according to the EIA.
By Ovunc Kutlu in New York
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr