As electricity rates continue to climb in Maine, a new online data tool shows the state’s low-income households bear the heaviest energy burden in the nation.

The Sierra Club compiled Department of Energy data showing a family of four earning less than $50,000 a year spends roughly 20% of household income on electricity and heating fuel.

Patrick Drupp, the Sierra Club’s climate policy director, said poor housing stock and financial barriers to clean-energy technologies contribute to the cost.

“Clean energy is obviously the fastest and cheapest form of energy,” Drupp said. “Bringing it on-grid as fast as possible would be one of the biggest things you could do to lower electricity prices for people.”

Residential electricity rates in Maine are up nearly 80% since 2015 because of spikes in natural gas prices, and the war in Iran continues to affect fuel oil prices. The data also show Black and Native Americans bear disproportionately high energy burdens.

The Sierra Club said the Trump administration has exacerbated the energy affordability crisis by canceling clean-energy projects, gutting efficiency standards for appliances and cutting available aid for families, including the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Researchers say increasing the program from $5 billion to $20 billion could eliminate energy poverty across the United States.

Johanna Heureaux-Torres, the Sierra Club’s energy campaign analyst, said she hopes people use the compiled data to consider how people in their own communities are faring.

“Using this tool, people can hone in on areas all across this country and really leverage this data to advocate for their communities, for their people,” Heureaux-Torres said.

The Trump administration argues solar and wind energy projects are part of what it refers to as the “green new scam.” An executive order prioritizes domestic fossil-fuel production, while energy-efficiency initiatives are viewed as government overreach.

Heureaux-Torres said low-income households are suffering from energy costs, and there is not much available to help them.

Source: Public News Service