Pa., N.J. residents may pay more this summer to stay cool

Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents can expect to pay about 12% more to keep their homes cool this summer, according to a new report.

From June to September, households in the Mid-Atlantic region — which also includes New York — are projected to rack up an electric bill of $691 on average, a more than $80 increase from last summer, the report found.

“Unless something is done about rising temperatures and emissions for use of electricity, these numbers will keep going up,” said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association and author of the report.

The report, released Monday, included projections from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, which represents the state directors of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the Center on Energy Poverty and Climate, which does research and recommends policy changes that would help low-income households stay cool amid rising temperatures.

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In recent years, climate change has led to more extreme heat events. Last year, the U.S. logged more heat waves than any year since 1936, with the South and Southwest getting hit particularly hard, and set a record for heat-related deaths, with the death certificates of more than 2,300 people noting excessive heat as a factor, according to an analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Those 2,300 deaths could have been prevented if we understood fully what we’re facing in society,” said Cheryl Holder, an internist and executive director of Florida Clinicians for Climate Action. “My patients cannot go without access to cooling when July shows up.”

While Pennsylvania and New Jersey have largely been spared from long stretches of extreme heat in recent summers, some forecasters are predicting that this one could be the hottest ever.

For consumers, that means utility bills could keep rising.

But a spokesperson for Peco, which serves more than 1.2 million residential customers in Southeastern Pennsylvania, said customers this summer will pay between $135 and $188 a month on average, down slightly from a range of $137 to $191 last summer for the same usage. Peco’s supply rate dropped slightly in June, noted spokesperson Greg Smore, and will not be readjusted again until September.

A decade ago, households nationwide paid $476 on average to cool their homes in the summer months, according to the report, which did not adjust for inflation. This year, that number is expected to be $719.

While summer electric bills in the Mid-Atlantic are projected to be a bit lower than the national average, this region as a whole is expected to see a larger percentage increase this summer than the country as a whole, according to the report. It is only one of three areas expected to see a double-digit increase. The others are the East South Central region and the Pacific Coast.

Rising prices could have devastating impacts on low-income households at a time when funding has decreased for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, commonly referred to as LIHEAP. State LIHEAP directors reported that more than a million households won’t be able to get assistance from the program this year, and the assistance for eligible households may be lower because federal funding was cut by about $2 billion.

In Pennsylvania, LIHEAP grants are available to help residents with heating costs in the winter, but in recent years, some LIHEAP funds have also been used for summer cooling efforts, such as a program that gave away or repaired air conditioners for eligible households the past two summers. In New Jersey, LIHEAP grants are available in the winter to eligible households; in summer, residents with certain medical conditions can qualify for cooling assistance.

While Pennsylvania and New Jersey have moratoriums that prevent service from being shut off in the cold winter months, they are among the 33 states that have no such protections in the summer months. Peco voluntarily suspends service terminations during declared heat emergencies, Smore said.

Nationwide, 16% of households are behind on their utility bills, and more than 37% of households that make $50,000 or less have been unable to pay an energy bill on time and in full at least once in the past year.

Customers in need of assistance who cannot get it through LIHEAP should check with their utility company about additional help. For instance, Peco, which Smore said has the highest customer assistance program participation in the state, can help customers with past-due balance forgiveness, energy efficiency measures, hardship grants, and referrals at peco.com/help.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.