Rising Power Costs Force One in Five Americans to Cut Food Spending

Key points

• 20% of Americans have cut back on groceries or considered buying less expensive food to afford electricity bills.
• 25% of respondents have reduced heating or air conditioning to uncomfortable levels or considered doing so.
• 81% of Americans who have lived in the same home for at least three years reported increased electricity bills during that time.
• 28% of long-term homeowners reported electricity bill increases of 20% to 49%.
• 75% of respondents whose bills increased said the higher costs strained their household finances.
• Households with annual incomes below $85,000 were more than twice as likely as higher-income households to say the increases strained their finances a lot.

Background

This story builds on earlier coverage from our archive that highlighted the same Consumer Reports survey findings, noting that rising power costs are pushing 20% of Americans to cut food spending and that 25% have cut heating or cooling. The archive also noted that 80% of long-term homeowners report increased costs over three years, with 28% seeing hikes between 20% and 49%. Consumers were blamed utility profits and data center demand, prompting Consumer Reports to launch a bill-analysis initiative to help households understand and reduce costs. The current article expands on these findings by providing more specific details on the survey methodology, the financial strain on lower-income households, and the public's distrust of state utility regulators.

Why it matters

The findings highlight the financial trade-offs households are making as electricity costs rise, with some consumers also cutting back on nonessential spending, including eating out and traveling. Rising electricity costs are adding to broader affordability concerns as Americans also face higher gasoline and diesel prices amid increased oil costs linked to the war in Iran. The financial pressures come just weeks before the midterm elections, with cost of living, healthcare, food prices, gasoline costs, and food and housing as the top household expenses that voters want lawmakers to address, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. The survey also reveals deep public distrust of state utility regulators, with 75% of respondents saying they trust regulators only a little or not at all to protect their interests, and just 1% saying they trust regulators completely. This distrust, combined with the financial strain on lower-income households, suggests that electricity costs will be a significant issue for voters and policymakers in the coming months.

What to watch

Consumer Reports will use anonymized bill information from the Power Smarter initiative to identify price trends and investigate factors contributing to electricity costs. The initiative includes the free CR Bill Decoder, which allows consumers to submit electricity bills to find state-specific financial assistance programs, potential ways to reduce costs, and explanations of billing terms, rates, and fees. The survey also found that 84% of respondents supported creating a separate electricity rate category for large users such as data centers, with 50% saying data centers should pay all infrastructure costs for projects built primarily to serve them and 39% saying they should pay more of those costs than other customers. These findings may influence future policy debates and regulatory actions regarding electricity rates and data center costs.