Climate change has increased average temperatures, increased the occurrence and length of heat waves, increased drought conditions and increased extreme one-day precipitation events, and those conditions have stressed an already aging electrical grid, causing power...
Biannual State of the Home Survey Finds Many Homeowners Tackling Repairs and Decluttering Homes During COVID-19 NORWALK, CT (June 10, 2021) –HomeServe USA (HomeServe), a leading provider of home repair solutions, announced the findings of the 12th edition of its...
Energy efficiency is an important part of many utilities’ demand-side management and outreach efforts, but your message may be ignored, or your customer simply may not be able afford the repairs, replacements or upgrades needed to make their homes more energy...
Emergency home repairs are an unfortunate reality of homeownership. In the past 12 months, about one in two homeowners have reported a breadown in their homes. A recent survey found more homeowners are less prepared for an emergency than they were for our last survey,...
Since Christmas Day, the Rettinger family has not been thinking about home repair – in fact, it’s been the last thing on their minds. Since husband and father Dave went to the hospital with stomach pains on Christmas, only to subsequently find out that he faces stage...
Jessica G. of Albuquerque was struggling with degenerative nerve disease and late-stage cancer, but she had the support of her extended family and her business, SOS of New Mexico, to keep her occupied. As a long-time, second-generation business owner, she was able to...
An estimated 179 million Americans are at risk to lose utility service as moratoriums expire and unpaid utility bills come due. Unpaid electric and gas bills are expected to total more than $24 billion by the end of the year, a debt that is four times larger than last year’s. Indicators signal that the economic shock isn’t yet over – a Census Bureau survey reveals that one-third of Americans continue to struggle to pay their bills.
Utilities, including energy and water, represent more than 20 percent of a low-income household’s monthly expenditures, a significantly higher portion than that of middle class wage earners. Tilting the balance even more is the inability of many low-income households to reach energy equity with their better-paid neighbors.
Shirley C., her child and her grandchild lived together in her Georgia home, but the homeowner was dealing with a host of home repair issues she couldn’t afford to fix. The home had major electrical and plumbing problems. The electrical service box had a melted cable...
As a life-long resident of Jackson, Mississippi, Alfred D. is no stranger to the city’s hot summers. For many years, he had a home air conditioning system to keep the humidity and high temperatures at bay. However, the retiree’s air conditioning system finally, after...
Anita I. and her family had to be innovative to survive a winter after experiencing a furnace failure in their Dunbar, West Virginia, home. Anita placed small heaters in bedrooms and the living room, but the electric system in the home couldn’t handle any more,...
On a sunny March day in Aurora, Colorado, Robert Z. noticed that it felt a bit drafty in his home. Upon further investigation, he quickly realized his furnace was not running, and despite his best efforts, it wasn't kicking back on. Although his furnace was not...
Low- and Middle-Income (LMI) households have historically faced obstacles to becoming more energy efficient, despite the outsized impact efficiency measures would have for this population. Low-income households pay more than 7 percent of their income on energy bills,...
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