Electricity bills are rising across the United States. According to a recent update from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), residential rates were up 6.1 percent in August over the same month last year – though some areas have seen significantly higher rate hikes.

There may also be further increases on the horizon. An analysis of U.S. utilities by consulting firm ICF found that residential rates could rise 15 to 40 percent over the next five years and may double by 2050, which would considerably complicate Americans’ financial challenges.

Amid this daunting landscape, the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) surveyed lower-income consumers to understand their specific household challenges and how electricity providers and other stakeholders can reach them with assistance and energy-saving programs.

In this month’s blog, we look at three key findings from the “Meeting the Needs of Low-Income Households” paper that highlight the needs of low-income consumers around electricity:

1. About half of low-income consumers are struggling to pay their monthly electricity bills.

In this new research, we analyzed survey data using income definitions from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which combine total household income and household size. The low-income range used in this paper starts at $27,000 of annual income for a single-person household and rises to $51,000 for a household with eight people. According to the survey results, 48 percent of respondents in the low-income category are struggling to pay their electricity bills. Additionally, about a third (34 percent) of survey respondents in the low- to medium-income category are struggling with their bills. This income definition goes up to $41,000 for a single-person household and $61,000 for a household of four.

2. Many low-income consumers are not accessing assistance programs like LIHEAP.

While many consumers report struggling with their electricity bills, relatively few are accessing common assistance programs for household energy expenses. Forty percent of consumers in the low-income bracket say that they are accessing Medicaid, while 34 percent say that they are receiving SNAP benefits. But, at the same time, only 15 percent of low-income respondents reported receiving assistance via the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a federally funded program that helps consumers with their energy bills and weatherization upgrades. In addition, just three percent of low-income consumers said that they are receiving assistance from their electricity providers.

3. Most low-income consumers believe they are doing everything they can to lower their bills.

Finally, 88 percent of the low-income consumers surveyed for the “Meeting the Needs of Low-Income Households” paper believe they are already doing everything they can to lower their monthly electricity bills, suggesting a significant awareness gap of available programs – both assistance and energy efficiency – that are available through electricity providers, government programs, nonprofit organizations or other entities. Within the low- to moderate-income category, 83 percent stated that they are doing everything they can do to bring down their monthly bills.

Today’s economic landscape presents many challenges for American consumers, but low-income consumers, who already have substantially higher energy burdens, are being hit particularly hard. Electricity providers have a pivotal opportunity at this moment to prove themselves to be trusted community partners. By expanding awareness of assistance programs and tailoring energy-saving programs around the barriers that low-income consumers face, providers can ease immediate financial pressures while fostering long-term trust. In doing so, they will help shape a more equitable energy ecosystem that benefits both communities and the industry itself.