While losing access to electricity at home is always a major inconvenience, during extreme temperatures, it can become a matter of life or death.
With this in mind, state lawmakers in Kentucky have put forth legislation that would prevent utility companies from cutting off electricity for nonpayment during extreme weather.
"By enshrining this into state law, it makes it statewide," said Lisa Willner, the state representative who introduced the legislation, according to WLKY. "So every Kentuckian would have these same protections, and it makes it transparent for the public."
The legislative proposal came as millions of Americans have had difficulty keeping up with ever-increasing electricity costs.
"Across the United States, rising electricity rates are making it difficult for more and more families to afford their utility bills," said a report by the Appalachian Citizens Law Center. "To keep their homes heated, many forgo medicine and other basic necessities, endure dangerous indoor temperatures, or resort to unsafe heating practices such as using an oven or kerosene heaters indoors."
"A lack of reliable energy supply has public health consequences, especially for children and older adults," the report's authors continued.
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Experts have attributed rising electricity costs largely to the strain that power-hungry data centers have placed on an aging electrical grid. As increased demand for electricity has outpaced the growth in supply, prices have soared.
According to a Bloomberg analysis, consumers living near data centers have seen their monthly electric bills leap by as much as 267% over a five-year span. This has made electricity increasingly unaffordable for the most vulnerable Americans.
The authors of the Appalachian Citizens Law Center report have urged policymakers to take action.
"Our report suggests that even as residential electricity rates and energy burdens increase, there may be policy interventions that can keep households connected to electricity service," they wrote.
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$200 or more 💰 Willner and other backers of the Kentucky legislative proposal hope that their bill could become one such intervention.
"The bill is simple. It's straightforward. It doesn't cost anything," said Willner, per WLKY. "And before, we didn't have bipartisan support, so that's a big step forward."
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