Tracking the Pernicious Challenge of Utility Disconnections
The Energy Justice Lab focuses on equity in the energy transition, including access to household energy services. One dimension of this work is the Utility Disconnections Dashboard, which makes information about utility shut-offs more accessible and understandable. Practitioners, policymakers, and scholars use the dashboard to better understand utility disconnections and to advocate for stronger protections.
Energy insecurity is a pervasive problem across the United States, as millions of households struggle on a regular basis to afford their household energy needs. Without access to electricity, households cannot keep food or refrigerable medications cold, power their electric devices (e.g., appliances, durable medical equipment), or maintain adequate or comfortable temperatures in their home.
Energy-insecure households commonly engage in unsafe coping mechanisms, such as risky financial actions (e.g., carrying debt) or heating behaviors (e.g., using ovens or relying on space heaters). These households also often make difficult decisions about whether to pay their utility bills or purchase other necessities, like food or healthcare services.
Common factors associated with energy insecurity include people living in inefficient homes, households where someone uses an electronic medical device, households of color, and families with young children.
Among related topics, the Energy Justice Lab also studies utility disconnections and policies that help households avoid shut offs associated with bill nonpayment. As part of this work, the lab manages the Utility Disconnections Dashboard, an online tool that allows users to view disconnection patterns, explore state utility disconnection policies, and probe trends over time.
The dashboard has two components: a map view and a data explorer tool. The map view allows exploration of disconnection patterns and protection policies by state. The data explorer tool allows users to view disconnection trends by state or utility over time.
The dashboard contains data for all utilities that are required to report their disconnection numbers, amounting to roughly 10% of all utilities, with a coverage of approximately 47% of the total U.S. population as of 2022. In aggregate, the dashboard reveals that roughly 2 million households were disconnected in 2023, though this number is a significant underestimate of the total count, given the lack of national reporting.
Using dashboard data, our lab released a series of infographics. Most recently, we focused on state utility disconnection protections during cold weather (see below). We show that 17 states have cold weather protections based on either temperature conditions or specific dates; 24 states have partial protections where eligibility is contingent on meeting certain specifications; and 9 states have no cold weather protections at all. Previously, we explored which utilities have the highest disconnection rates, presented the states that have hot weather utility disconnection protections, and explained the correlates of energy insecurity.
Researchers at our lab also use these data to better understand the disconnections challenge. In a paper published in Nature Communications, we analyze the incidence of utility disconnections in California, accounting for socioeconomic factors, weather patterns, and household characteristics. In this paper we find that households of color and households with young children, respectively, are more likely to be disconnected, even controlling for income and other factors.
The Utility Disconnections Dashboard has become an important resource about utility disconnections and related protection policies. Advocates have used the data to promote and design utility disconnection protection policies in multiple states. Other stakeholders from across the energy sector (e.g., policymakers, government officials, media ) have used the data to better understand challenges associated with utility disconnections.
For example, the state of Virginia recently passed HB 906, a bill spearheaded by Delegate Irene Shin, which provides both cold and heat disconnection protections to households. This legislation is one of the most comprehensive in coverage of any state’s disconnection protections, featuring absolute protections in contrast to many states where protections are contingent on various eligibility conditions.
The dashboard was also recently cited as evidence for a focus on equity, when considering utility disconnections, in reports from the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General and the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission.
There is a growing need for information on utility disconnections, such as the connection between disconnections and health, education, and social outcomes. With better understanding of to these relationships, there can be increased focus on preventative solutions.
Sanya Carley
Mark Alan Hughes Faculty DirectorSanya Carley is the Mark Alan Hughes Faculty Director of the Kleinman Center and Presidential Distinguished Professor of Energy Policy and City Planning at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design.
David Konisky
Associate Dean for Research, Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana UniversityDavid Konisky is the Associate Dean for Research and a Lynton K. Caldwell Professor at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. He also co-directs the Energy Justice Lab and serves as editor-in-chief for the journal Environmental Politics.
Alison Knasin
Manager, Energy Justice LabAlison Knasin is the manager of the Energy Justice Lab. She manages all cloud-based operations and oversees research and data management for the Lab. Prior to joining the Lab, she received her PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania.
