Disconnected: Estimating the National Prevalence of Utility Disconnections and Related Coping Strategies

• In Event: 3154 - Poverty

Abstract

Notions of poverty have evolved from fixed measures of income to more nuanced accounting of factors that affect material hardships. Despite significant advancements in the definition of material hardships, there is a lack of consensus about the category of “bill paying” or “essential expenses.” We propose that utilities, in the form of electricity and gas services, are a non-negotiable household necessity that should be better characterized in the poverty literature. Recent conceptualizations of energy insecurity demonstrate that this phenomenon has three dimensions - physical, economic and behavioral - that are consequential for health and well-being. Earlier studies have indicated that energy insecurity is particularly pervasive among vulnerable populations, however little is known about the prevalence and correlates associated with challenges meeting household energy needs. We capitalize on a newly implemented measure of energy insecurity available in the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) that is administered by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. RECS includes a nationally representative sample of U.S. households and features various questions associated with household energy, including indicators of energy insecurity. Using the 2015 panel, we analyze the prevalence associated with disconnection notices, disconnection of services and coping strategies such as forgoing basic necessities, maintaining an unhealthy home temperature and seeking energy assistance. Findings indicate that nearly 15% of the US population received a disconnection notice and at least 3% experienced a service disconnection in 2015. Our analysis focuses on the strategies households use when facing chronic and occasional disconnection notices and disconnections. We find that more households resort to forgoing basic necessities than maintaining an unhealthy temperature, a finding that supports earlier evidence of bill juggling and privately handling material hardships. We discuss implications for future research and policy regarding energy insecurity and coping with this unique material hardship.

Authors

• Diana Hernandez, MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

• Jennifer Laird, Lehman College