Average Americans Struggling to Pay Electricity
“>>Reporter: Gg Perez Was Shocked To Receive A $174 Electric Bill In The Mail This Month.
>>Reporter: How Much Is It Usually During The Summer For You
>> Last Year, It Was Like $98 Or $95.
Reporter: You’re Paying Like 80 Bucks More Now
>> Yes, Ma’am.It’s A Lot
>> Reporter: Gg, Who Lives On A Fixed Income With Her Daughter And Three Grandkids In Houston, Says They’re Trying To Conserve Energy To Cut Future Bills And Are Now Making Sacrifices To Pay This One.
>> The First Thing I Was Thinking, I Said, I’m Going To Pay The Bill, But We Don’t Going To Have No Water Or Meat Or Something Price Is Going Up. I Had To Go Down On Something.
>> Reporter: Texas Has Some Of The Highest Bills In The Country, While Nationwide This Summer, Americans Are Expected To Spend $540 On Electric Bills, 20% More Than Last Year. Some States Are Seeing Even Bigger Increases. Pennsylvania Regulators Are Now Warning Of A 45% Rate Hike And Starting Monday, Some Customers In Massachusetts, Connecticut, And New Hampshire, Will See An Increase Of Up To 50%.
>> $100 More A Month Is A Lot Of Money.
>> Reporter: The Price Hike And The Scorching Heat Is Burning Granite State Resident, Michelle
>> Frustration There’s Nothing We Can Do We Just Have To Kind Of, You Know, Accept It
>> Reporter: The Reason For The Spike
>> A Lot Of That Is Because Of The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine. Because Natural Gas Prices Have Doubled To Quadrupled, Our Electricity Prices Have Gone Up With Them.
>> Reporter: There Are Some Steps You Can Take To Lower Your Bill Experts Say, Try Turning The Thermostat Up A Few Degrees Close Blinds To Avoid Warming The Room And If You Get Hit With A Big Bill, Talk To Your Electric Company About A Payment Plan
>> It’s 85 Degrees Here Today, And It’s Pretty Humid, And The Air-Conditioners Are Not On We’re, You Know, Just Trying To Use As Little As We Can.
>> Reporter: With No Relief In Sight, Both Michelle And Gg Are Considering Moving To Cool Down Their Costs.
>> I Don’t Know What We’re Going To Do, But You Know, We Need The Electricity.”
Video Source from NBC News Youtube
