A new study from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy says one in four low-income households across the country are spending 15% of their income on energy. In Richmond, they’re spending even more — at least 17.5%.
“In order to pay for that high [of an] energy bill, they might make a decision on maybe not purchasing food or just letting go of another bill,” said the study’s co-author Roxana Ayala, ACEEE senior research analyst.
Energy burden is the percentage of a household’s income spent on bills for electricity and fuel, such as natural gas. If an individual or a family spends more than 6% of its monthly income on energy, it’s considered highly burdened; households spending more than 10% are considered severely burdened.
In Richmond, a household earning $20,000 a year — the median for low-income households in the city — would likely spend 9% or more of that on energy every year. Black and Hispanic households tend to pay even more.
Ayala said she hopes the research can be a starting point for elected officials “to engage these energy-burdened households … to understand what are their needs and the types of solutions that would ideally work best for them.”
Chase Counts, president of the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals, said in Richmond, that could look like addressing urban heat island effects.
“The more we can bolster the building … through air sealing insulation … but also maintain indoor air quality through ventilation, we can reduce the incidence of heat exposure and heat-related illnesses,” Counts said.
Homeowners can take advantage of the federal Weatherization Assistance Program and utility funded energy efficiency programs to reduce their bills. But weatherization professionals like Bryan Burris, of the nonprofit Project:HOMES, estimate one-quarter or more of homes that qualify for federal aid are deferred due to other maintenance needs.
“Enter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative,” Burris said.
The multistate carbon market, designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants while raising money for state programs, delivered over $800 million to state coffers from 2021 to 2023. Half of that was dedicated to energy efficiency programs, including the Weatherization Deferral Repair program.
If a home is too dangerous to work on — maybe it has an unstable roof or a caved-in floor — WDR can pay to fix any underlying issues. That frees up federal WAP funds for efficiency upgrades like insulation and heat pumps. Utility funds can help cover whatever the feds won’t, resulting in home upgrades that are free to low-income Virginians. For example, Dominion Energy customers who qualify for the utility’s EnergyShare program are eligible for certain efficiency upgrades.
But Virginia left RGGI last year, under orders from Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Burris and former AECP president Billy Weitzenfeld said there is likely enough funding for two more years of the program.
The state’s Department for Housing & Community Development did not respond to a request for comment on the program by publication.
AECP is currently involved in a lawsuit over the WDR program’s funding. The next court date is Sept. 17.
