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‘I had no electricity for six months’: US families squeezed by surging energy bills

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Lead

In 2025, dozens of American households have faced prolonged power loss and soaring utility debt as retail electricity and gas prices climbed. In Greenwood Lake, New York, Kristy Hallowell lost power for six months after her monthly bill jumped to $1,800 and she could not pay; a local non‑profit later negotiated a partial payment to restore electricity. National consumer credit analyses show a rise in severely overdue utility accounts through the first half of President Trump’s second term, while official data recorded electricity prices up 6.9% year‑on‑year in November. Families, state regulators and advocacy groups warn winter heating costs and new industrial demand could keep bills elevated into the coming months.

Key takeaways

  • Individual hardship: Kristy Hallowell reported an electricity bill spike to $1,800 a month; her household relied on a generator for six months in 2025 and still carries roughly $3,000 in utility debt.
  • Scale of arrears: Nearly 1 in 20 US households face the risk of having utility debt sent to collections as winter begins, according to recent analysis.
  • Credit‑data trend: The share of households with severely overdue utility debt rose by 3.8% in the first six months of President Trump’s second term (first half of 2025), per a Century Foundation and Protect Borrowers data analysis.
  • Price inflation: Official US data for November shows electricity prices up 6.9% year‑on‑year; winter heating costs are forecast to climb about 9.2% this season by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.
  • Supply and demand drivers: Higher natural gas prices, reduced clean‑energy project deployment and growing demand from large data centres are cited as major upward pressures on residential electricity prices.
  • Policy tensions: The federal administration has proposed cuts to state assistance funding for utility payments while also pausing some offshore wind lease activity, moves experts say may raise long‑term costs.
  • State responses: Some states, including recent action in Virginia, are weighing or implementing rules to make very large electricity customers pay higher shares to limit rate impacts on households.

Background

Residential energy costs are shaped by interaction among fuel markets, infrastructure planning and regulatory choices. Nearly half of US electricity generation depends on natural gas, so domestic gas price swings feed directly into power bills; analysts point to increased liquefied natural gas exports and higher global demand as factors lifting domestic gas prices in 2024–25. At the same time, a slowdown or cancellation of some clean‑energy projects reduces near‑term supply additions that might ease wholesale power prices.

Household finances were strained before the recent spikes: rent, insurance and health care costs have been rising, and many low‑income consumers entered the period with smaller savings cushions than in prior cycles. Non‑profits and legal aid groups report the typical pre‑pandemic client utility arrears ranged from roughly $400 to $900, whereas in 2025 they increasingly see balances in the thousands, sometimes above $6,000.

Main event

Kristy Hallowell’s case illustrates the human consequences of these trends. After losing her job, her monthly energy bill tripled to about $1,800; unable to pay, the utility cut both gas and electricity. Hallowell, her two children and her mother used a generator for light and heat for about six months in 2025 until a local non‑profit brokered a partial payment agreement that restored electricity.

Her gas service remains disconnected and her outstanding utility debt has continued to rise to roughly $3,000. She described the experience as traumatic and said she fears another shut‑off as cold weather and higher usage increase bills. Local advocates say similar stories are common among low‑income households across the Northeast and other regions with high electricity use.

On a national level, an analysis by the Century Foundation and Protect Borrowers of consumer credit data found the number of households with severely overdue utility debt increased 3.8% in the first six months of President Trump’s second term. Advocacy groups warn that proposed reductions in federal aid to states for utility assistance could worsen these outcomes for vulnerable households.

Analysis & implications

Short‑term price pressure stems from fuel costs and immediate demand increases. Natural gas price moves directly affect wholesale electricity, and higher LNG exports mean domestic prices are exposed to global markets. Increases in residential electricity of 6.9% year‑on‑year are large relative to overall inflation and translate into material budget stress for fixed‑income and low‑income families.

Structural choices will shape whether this stress is temporary or persistent. Pausing or canceling clean‑energy projects delays new generation capacity and storage that could moderate prices over time; one climate advocacy analysis attributed a part of the recent bill increase to reduced deployment of such projects. Meanwhile, rapid growth of power‑hungry data centres and AI infrastructure adds persistent new demand in regional grids already near capacity, which can raise local wholesale prices and distribution costs.

Policy responses are split between short‑term relief and longer‑term structural measures. Short‑term measures include emergency assistance funds, arrears repayment plans and moratoria on disconnections for specific groups. Longer‑term solutions involve altering rate designs, incentivising distributed clean generation and storage, and ensuring large commercial customers shoulder costs reflective of their grid impact.

Comparison & data

Metric Reported change
Electricity prices (US, year‑on‑year, Nov) +6.9%
Households with severe utility arrears (first half of 2025) +3.8% (Century Foundation/Protect Borrowers)
Projected winter heating cost rise +9.2% (NEADA)
Estimated electricity bill rise since Trump returned (Climate Power) +13%

These figures show parallel pressures across supply, demand and financial vulnerability. The 6.9% year‑on‑year electricity price rise and the 9.2% projected heating increase both indicate meaningful near‑term household cost growth, while the arrears increase reflects the financial squeeze converting price rises into unpaid bills and collections risk.

Reactions & quotes

Advocates and analysts framed the issue as both policy and political. Before each quote we summarise the context: the speaker’s role and the point they were making.

“This is going to be a huge deal, both as a policy matter and a political matter.”

Alex Jacquez, Groundwork Collaborative (policy director)

Jacquez was referring to the combined effects of rising bills and policy choices on public opinion and on the pragmatic need for federal and state reforms to protect households while pursuing energy transitions.

“Local electricity prices are not one of them.”

Scott Bessent, US Treasury Secretary (comment to ABC News)

Bessent used this phrasing to argue that some electricity price differences are driven by state utilities and regulators, signalling limits to federal control over local rates even as the administration addresses affordability messaging.

“People used to owe $400 to $900; now many owe upwards of $6,000.”

Laurie Wheelock, Public Utility Law Project of New York (non‑profit director)

Wheelock summarised the shift her organisation sees in client arrears, emphasising the greater scale of recent unpaid balances and the resulting increase in account terminations for unpaid bills in 2025.

Unconfirmed

  • The precise share of recent price increases directly attributable to data centres is disputed; while local cases show clear impacts, national attribution varies by region and methodology.
  • The causal link between specific federal project cancellations and the entire 13% bill increase reported by some advocacy groups is contested and depends on counterfactual assumptions about projects that would have been built and their delivery timelines.

Bottom line

Rising residential energy costs in 2024–25 have moved from an economic indicator to a household crisis for many families, particularly those with lost income or limited savings. Cases like Kristy Hallowell’s—where bills tripled and services were cut—underline how price shocks convert into immediate risks to health and housing stability during cold months.

Policy responses must balance near‑term relief for vulnerable households with structural changes to clean energy deployment, grid planning and rate design to prevent repeated shocks. States can adopt measures to shield small consumers while ensuring very large users pay costs aligned with their grid impact; federal choices about assistance funding and energy project approvals will shape whether pressure eases or intensifies over the medium term.

Sources

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