Description
Energy Burden Tracking Aims to Reduce High Energy Costs on Households
Energy Burden is defined as the percentage of household income spent on energy costs. While all households pay for heating, cooling, and other energy costs, some pay a significantly greater proportion of their income than others. This disproportionate burden on low-income families is a pressing issue in America. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), low-income, Black, Hispanic, and disadvantaged households face dramatically higher energy burdens. Twenty-five percent of all low-income households in the United States have an energy burden above 15.2%. Higher energy burdens can have serious implications when it comes to the health and well-being of families experiencing it. Some have to choose between heating and cooling their homes or paying for necessities such as food or health care.
Here in Saint Paul, the median energy burden averaged 2.2% between 2015 and 2020. But an analysis performed in 2017 showed that the ten census tracts with the highest median energy burden range from 4.2% to 12%, with approximately 42,000 Saint Paul households carrying an energy burden of 4% or above. The Minnesota Department of Commerce defines an energy burden of 6% as high and 10% as severe. Overall, however, in the period 2015-2020 energy burden in Saint Paul appears to be declining thanks to higher incomes at the lower end of the income range.
In 2019,Saint Paul adopted a goal of lowering the energy burden so that within ten years, no Saint Paul household will spend more than 4% of household income on energy costs.
Several strategies can be adopted to lower energy burden, including making homes more energy efficient and increasing income by helping people move into living-wage jobs. Understanding energy burden and how it is distributed across neighborhoods, racial and ethnic groups, and household types can help to better target low-income energy efficiency programs in Saint Paul.
One of the best first steps homeowners can take to reduce energy bills and cut emissions is to schedule a visit from the Xcel Energy Home Energy Squad. The Home Energy Squad will evaluate each home for energy-saving improvements, provide recommendations, and supply homeowners with information about rebates from Xcel Energy. While there, they will Install energy-saving materials such as LED lightbulbs, door and attic hatch weather stripping, programmable thermostats, and high-efficiency water fixtures.
Two local organizations, Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties (CAPRW) and Energy Cents Coalition (ECC), assist income-qualified households with paying energy bills, repairing furnaces, and weatherizing homes.
The City of Saint Paul also has a new pre-weatherization and weatherization program called Healthy Homes designed to assist income-qualified households. You can learn more here.