With near record-breaking heat comes high electric bills.
Ken Rush said the electric bill for his Rockwall home was $305 in May. The next month, it was $489.
Janet Marcum’s most recent electricity bill was $545, the highest it’s ever been in her family’s nine years of living in their 4,000-square-foot, North Dallas home.
Carolyn Harper keeps the thermostat in her Dallas home set at 79 to 80 degrees during the day and 76 at night. Last month’s bill was $181. But her rate will jump 142% at the end of the month from 5.5 cents per kWh to 13.3.
“I’m not happy with the bill. Can we afford the bill? Yes, but I worry,” Harper said. “You look at these rates and what they’re going to be, it’s scary. I don’t know how a person who makes $15 an hour and lives in a little apartment would be able to afford that.”
Many try to keep costs down by changing air filters, unplugging appliances and running fans, but energy rates have soared along with the increase in temperatures.
Local programs that provide utility assistance are bracing for more families needing help. And late last week, the state announced a new effort to help Texans pay their bills.
Judy Rorrie, executive director of North Dallas Shared Ministries said she expects the nonprofit to exceed the $120,000 budgeted to help families with such bills this year.
Already a little more than half — $68,469 — was spent in the first six months helping 189 families. Last year, the agency spent $122,332 on utility assistance, helping 342 families with and average of $357 in aid.
Rorrie predicts that this summer’s need will far surpass last year’s.
“My expectation is we’re going to go well over the budget because the need for the rest of the summer is going to be huge,” Rorrie said. “We are going to see a huge increase. There’s no way not to when it’s 106 degrees, 104 degrees, 102 degrees.”
Triple-digit highs are expected to continue in the area for much of this week. Last month, the high reached at least 100 degrees on nine days, compared to the typical June total of two.
Rorrie said North Dallas Shared Ministries does not expect to turn anybody down for utility assistance as long as they meet application guidelines, based on proof of verifiable income and residency within the organization’s service area.
Texans are facing not only sweltering temperatures but also higher rates when their electricity plans come up for renewal. Rates in Texas have soared over 70% as the price of natural gas has risen. Natural gas fuels the power plants that generate most of the state’s electricity.
Inflation adds to woes
Meanwhile, the struggle to pay larger bills is compounded by higher gasoline, food and rent costs.
Catholic Charities of Fort Worth has served about 35% more people than last year, said Courtney Walker, the group’s community care program manager.
“We’re seeing more middle-income families come, which is new,” Walker said. “So even individuals that are higher earners historically are now needing assistance.”
While 77% of those the organization helps through her program report income, many cannot afford to pay for all their basic needs, Walker said.
“And so, it’s a pretty deep indicator of not just utility need but overall cost-of-living increase,” Walker said.
Since January, the group has served 1,600 people, with most asking for help paying utility bills. The typical request is about $300 for a month-and-a-half billing cycle, Walker said.
On average, Catholic Charities receives about 700 calls a week from people asking for help paying utilities. However, the organization is only able to serve 300 to 400 people a month.
The agency refers those it can’t help to other organizations. But those are often smaller nonprofits struggling to keep up with demand too, Walker said.
Help from state, cities
On Thursday, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs launched Texas Utility Help in which eligible low-income Texas homeowner and renters can request financial aid to help pay bills. The maximum eligible income amount depends on the number of people living in the household.
Dallas County participates in the state’s Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program, or CEAP, which helps low-income households meet immediate energy needs, including air-conditioning repairs.
In Dallas County, eligibility is based on income from the 30 days prior to date of application. Eligible households must be at or below 150% of the federal poverty guideline limit. In the first six months of 2021, the county helped 14,901 households. During that same time period in 2022, it helped 13,146 households.
This year’s budget for utility assistance is about $7.7 million.
Doris Bass, CEAP program manager for Dallas County, said some new families have applied this summer, but the majority of applicants took part before. The program has funds available, she noted, saying that she hopes new people will reach out if they need help.
Many cities have financial aid programs. Dallas, for example, has a program that offers emergency help with utility bills or rent to those in temporary financial crisis. The amount of aid is based on the availability of funds.
Fort Worth’s Community Action Partners (CAP) program administers CEAP funding to help Tarrant County families with low or fixed household incomes pay their utility bills. In 2021, CAP received a total of 6,827 applications for utility assistance. As of June 7, 2022, 6,860 applications have been submitted.
Even with the stark increase in applicants, CAP expects its budget of over $6 million for utility assistance will meet demand, said Sonia Singleton, assistant director for the Fort Worth’s Neighborhood Services Department.
“What is a challenge is having enough staff to complete the cases to determine the eligibility and render the payment,” Singleton said. That process can take at least three weeks. As a result, she said, CAP prioritizes households with children 5 years old and under and elderly people because they’re more vulnerable to extreme temperatures.
