Electricity prices are on the rise. Is it inflation or an underlying issue?

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The sun is burning a hole in Americans’ wallets. Back-to-back months of heat records and sweltering days have contributed to rising electricity costs, and experts say that without action, it’s a problem that will likely only get worse. According to CBS News’ price tracker, the cost of electricity has increased from $0.14 per kilowatt hour in 2019 to $0.18 per kilowatt hour in 2024 — a change of more than 28.5%. The average American is now paying nearly $300 a month just in utilities. For many people, it just isn’t affordable. 

“Sometimes I have to choose whether I’m going to pay the light bill or do I pay all the rent or buy food or not let my son do a sport?” Stacey Freeman, a 44-year-old North Carolina mom told KFF Health News.Her energy bills have cost her hundreds a month, even as she relied on window units and space heaters in the summer and winter. 

Freeman’s situation is known as “energy poverty,” or the inability to afford utilities to properly heat or cool their home. A 2022 study published in Nature Communications found that 16% of U.S. households experience …

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