Households, especially low- to moderate-income (LMI), across the United States increasingly struggle to pay their electric and gas utility bills, driving stress, forcing tradeoffs and sacrifices, and creating arrears and disconnection risks. Financial pressure is widespread, driven by rising rates, higher energy usage, and other macroeconomic pressures. These figures reveal the depth of our current energy affordability “crisis”:

Over 60% of low-income households in the U.S. face high energy burdens, paying more than 6% of household income on utility bills, according to the American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy (ACEEE).

Energy insecurity affects 33% of all U.S. households, which choose between paying utility bills and other necessities or turn to unsafe energy practices, according to the National Consumer Law Center.

Over half of LMI utility customers report struggling to pay their utility bills, and one-third have faced service disconnection for nonpayment or are currently in debt to their utility, according to E Source utility customer research.

At the same time, the utility sector echoes broader U.S. racial and class disparities in housing, education, and economic development. The negative outcomes of disconnections, energy burden, and insecurity—and the positive benefits of energy efficiency, electrification, and distributed energy resources—are not evenly distributed, according to the Energy Equity Project. These disparities are detailed in ACEEE’s Energy Burden Research.

Despite our best efforts, the utility industry’s solutions to these challenges are lacking:

80% of LMI customers want to learn how to reduce their utility bills but have little or no familiarity with bill assistance programs, and just 24% participate in these programs, according to E Source utility customer research.

Income-qualified home energy efficiency programs are reaching just 5% of U.S. households that need assistance, according to ACEEE.

Assistance program success is just as much about process as it is program design. Among surveyed LMI customers who applied for energy assistance programs through their electric provider, 33% rated the experience as difficult, according to E Source research. Digging further into the reasons for this difficulty, it’s clear that applicants face many “administrative” hurdles to obtain assistance. These include a lack of awareness, misperceptions of customer eligibility, burdensome application requirements, and little guidance through the process. There are also more “hidden” barriers to assistance program uptake, including customers’ perceptions of fraud, stigma, and race when it comes to utilities and assistance.

Utilities must rethink customer service and work to remove these barriers, while ensuring that they center the voice of their customers in their decision-making. The affordability crisis in the utility sector points to the urgent need for comprehensive, holistic energy affordability strategies that consider customer pressures, propensities, and preferences.

E Source recently fielded two pulse surveys of more than 1,000 low- to moderate-income (LMI) utility customers (from households with incomes less than $75,000) nationwide on their energy affordability challenges, their access, barriers to, and improvement ideas for energy assistance. Here’s what those efforts uncovered.

The current state of energy affordability

Our February 2026 survey of 662 LMI customers nationwide assessed the current state of energy affordability and LMI customers’ pressures and perspectives on utilities’ affordability-related efforts. At a high level, the survey revealed:

• Financial pressure is widespread: 38% of respondents say their finances are worse than last year.
• Utility bills are a key stressor: 60% feel financial stress paying utility bills, with the highest burden among renters and ages 35–54.
• Bills are rising: 62% report higher utility bills year over year, particularly older adults, rural residents, and homeowners.
• Households are making hard trade‑offs: 35% cut back on food to pay utility bills; many also defer transportation, rent, or healthcare.
• Seasonal risk is acute: Winter is the most stressful season; 22% say they’re unlikely to keep up with bills during high‑bill months.
• Disconnection risk is real: 4 in 10 believe service disconnection is at least somewhat likely; nearly half received a disconnection notice in the past year.

The figure below shows self-reported disconnection risk for different income brackets within the surveyed LMI customer population.

Energy assistance opportunities

Low awareness, high perceived value: Almost 80% have little or no familiarity with utility assistance programs, yet two‑thirds believe they would be helpful.

The figure below shows energy assistance program awareness for different income brackets within the surveyed LMI customer population.

Program cuts matter: Lower‑income households, renters, and adults under 55 are most likely to say broader federal assistance program funding cuts would impair bill payment.

Flexible, ability‑to‑pay solutions: Top needs include payment plans based on ability to pay, extended due dates, bill credits, and partial debt forgiveness. Many prefer bi‑weekly or monthly payments.

Fraud, stigma, access, and race in energy assistance programs

Our May 2026 survey of 613 LMI customers nationwide tested their perceptions of fraud, stigma, and race in energy assistance programs. Here’s what it reveals:

Scams: 20% of respondents are not at all/not very confident they can tell the difference between legitimate and scam energy assistance offers.

Trust: 19% of respondents do not trust at all/trust very little their utility to provide accurate energy assistance program information.

When asked what would most help them trust that an offer for energy assistance is legitimate and not a scam, top choices from respondents included:

• The messages come directly from my utility company
• The ability to speak directly with a utility representative
• A government-run website or list of legitimate energy assistance programs

Access: 19% of respondents disagree that the application and enrollment process for financial energy assistance programs is designed to make it easy for them to apply.

When asked what things a utility could do to help improve the energy assistance application process, top choices from respondents included:

• Utility staff who can guide customers through the application step by step
• Automatically qualifying customers who already receive or qualify for other non-energy assistance programs
• Shorter applications with fewer required documents

Stigma: Within the surveyed LMI population, as income increases, we observed increasing levels of self-consciousness around applying for energy assistance, shown in the chart below. This is echoed by our ethnographic interview research we’ve conducted with LMI customers, who often report on the stigma they feel is attached to assistance programs.

When asked which types of messaging would make them feel most comfortable applying for energy assistance, top choices from respondents included:

• Messages that focus on saving energy and lowering monthly bills
• Messages that emphasize affordable energy as something everyone deserves
• Messages that show the program is commonly used by a wide range of working households

Race: We also wanted to test impacts of race in the utility sector and the provision of energy assistance programs. Could perceptions of race and discrimination influence LMI customers’ interest in participating in energy assistance programs? According to our survey:

Survey results show 35% of respondents sometimes or often see messages, commentary, or conversations suggesting that energy assistance or other public benefits are mainly used by certain racial or ethnic groups. Black and Hispanic customers see these messages far more often compared to white customers, shown in the figure below.

In addition, 50% of respondents believe that messages or perceptions suggesting that energy assistance or other public benefits are mainly used by certain racial or ethnic groups could discourage eligible people from applying for them. Black customers feel this way far more often compared to white customers, as do younger customers compared to older customers.

Overall, 39% of respondents feel discrimination based on race or ethnicity exists in the utility sector (like how different neighborhoods in your area are treated when it comes to utility investment and service). Black customers feel this way far more often than white customers, as do younger, urban, and renter customers compared to their counterparts.

Additionally, 38% of respondents think their utility makes different decisions across neighborhoods based on racial or ethnic make-up when it comes to major infrastructure or large energy users (such as choosing where power plants or large power consumers, like data centers, warehouses, and factories are located). Black customers feel this way far more often than white customers, as do younger, urban, and renter customers compared to their counterparts.

What we can do moving forward

What do these survey findings mean for the utility industry? To meaningfully improve affordability outcomes for customers, utilities must consider these barriers when designing their assistance offerings, especially in their customer engagement, marketing and communications, and enrollment processes. In designing and improving these offerings, we must ask ourselves:

• How might we increase awareness and make it easier for customers, especially those in arrears or before they miss a payment, to find and apply for energy assistance?
• How might we enable struggling customers to access other energy affordability offerings and wraparound assistance?
• How might we clarify or avoid eligibility requirements, and develop a streamlined process to get customers help?
• How might we address the hidden barriers of stigma, access, fraud, and race in customers’ perceptions of utilities and assistance offerings?

AESP’s Community, Access, Representation and Empowerment (CARE) Council works to advance an energy system where language unites instead of divides, where every participant is empowered, and where progress is measured not only in megawatts and dollars saved but in lives improved and futures secured. Through the CARE Council, industry leaders partner with AESP to shape strategies around community, access, representation, and empowerment, ensuring more voices are heard and strengthening the organization’s impact.

I am proud to be a CARE Council member because I share these ideals. Through the CARE Council, we can identify and spread awareness of challenges to our affordability and equity efforts based on real customer feedback. We can help ensure that utilities center the voice of customers in their decision-making. And we can design solutions that meet customers where they are and make positive, transformative impacts in their lives.