In Galveston, Texas, the question is no longer just how high summer temperatures will climb — it is also who can afford to keep a home cool as extreme heat and electricity bills rise together.
To cope, some residents have confined themselves to the coolest parts of their homes, blocked heat and light from windows, or gone without air conditioning.
Here's what to know
Public Health Watch, citing a 2023 Census Bureau report, said Galveston has almost 600 homes without air conditioning, about 2.6% of local housing, and that most are in historically Black neighborhoods.
Among the residents affected is Sherman Boyer, an 87-year-old who spent years relying on just two window units in a house that still became dangerously hot.
The strain has only intensified as Texas electricity prices have risen 30% on average since 2020, the largest increase in the United States, according to Public Health Watch. About 1 in 5 homes in the city were built before 1939, according to the Census Bureau, meaning they were not designed to hold cooled air efficiently, making relief even more costly.
As expenses climb, so do the health risks. From April through September, Galveston County recorded 238 heat-related emergency department visits. Data from FirstStreet showed that the number of days above 100 degrees in Galveston County more than doubled from 1993 to 2023 and is projected to nearly double again, per Public Health Watch.
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"This heat now is a different heat," Boyer told the outlet. "It's hard to keep up with it."
More background
People are not exposed to extreme heat in the same ways, and the stakes are especially high for older adults, infants, and those with chronic illnesses.
Renters have limited safeguards in high heat because Galveston has no ordinance requiring landlords to install cooling systems in rental homes, Public Health Watch reported.
Support from the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program has shrunk significantly, falling from $8.2 billion in 2021 to $4 billion despite growing demand. In 2024, support reached less than 3% of eligible Texas households.
"Households are making real trade-offs to be able to afford the electricity they consume," Aparajita Datta, energy policy associate for the University of Houston Energy Division, said, per Public Health Watch.
What's being done?
BakerRipley, which distributes LIHEAP assistance in Galveston, Harris, and Brazoria counties, expects to help about 1,250 residents in Galveston County this year. The organization receives 22,000 to 25,000 applications each year.
Glynniece Herron, program director for BakerRipley's Utility Assistance, said the same level of support no longer goes nearly as far as it once did. Herron told Public Health Watch that $1,200 could cover roughly seven to eight months of bills in 2020. In 2026, she said, it may cover only four to five months' worth.
Another local effort, Project Fat Cat, operated by Build Galveston, focuses on distributing free energy-efficient window units. Project manager Steven Creitz arranged 58 installations this year and was seeking $300,000 to expand the program.
After two new units were installed in her home Aug. 6, Boyer said the house cooled quickly, and her August electric bill was about the same as July's.
"It costs more now to live. You're trying to have your medications paid for, your food paid for, your house paid for, your car paid for, and every single one of those areas is costing you more today than it did a year ago," Herron said.
Where can I learn more?
These stories look at how extreme heat, weak renter protections, and rising energy costs are converging across Texas.
• One tenant faced unlivable conditions without AC during a punishing heat wave.
• A brutal heat wave hinted at the future as outages deepened risks.
• Clean energy kept bills low even as weeks of heat strained demand.
• Forecasters warned heat could spread with little overnight relief.
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