Poder Latinx Responds to Report Warning of Devastating Summer Energy Cost Spike for Latino Families

“Opening the electric bill has become a source of anxiety for too many working families"

PHOENIX, AZ -TODAY, Poder Latinx responded to a new report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association that reveals a utility price crisis that will have devastating impacts on Latino communities across the country.  The report projects that already high residential electricity bills will jump an additional 10.5% this summer, pushing the average household bill to nearly $800. According to the new report, some states, such as Arizona, could see summer energy bills top $1,000. 

Yadira Sánchez, Executive Director, Poder Latinx, released the following statement in response: 

“For too many working families, opening the electric bill has become a source of anxiety. As extreme temperatures continue to rise this summer, so does the impossible choice between keeping the lights on, staying safe from extreme heat, and paying for other basic necessities. 

“Energy affordability is not just a utility issue; it is an economic justice issue. Families deserve transparent, fair utility rates and policies that put people before profits.  Families can’t simply absorb wildly higher summer utility costs or be forced to make a choice between what necessities they can afford to pay. Unfair costs that are the result of extreme heat driven, in part, by the climate pollution being produced by the very same utilities profiting from these exorbitant and unaffordable cost increases.

“That's why we need civic engagement to address this affordability crisis. When communities organize, speak up, and participate in the decisions that shape their lives, they have the power to demand greater accountability, climate justice, and a more affordable energy future.”

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