By: Russ Kamp, CEO, Ryan ALM, Inc.

Electric payment company Payless Power released a report showing how Americans are being forced to choose between keeping the lights on, buying groceries, or paying for medicine. They conducted a survey of 1,069 people, including nearly half of whom came from low-income households, and regrettably 39% said they’d fallen behind on electricity payments in the past year.

Incredibly, more than 30% received at least one shutoff notice, while 11% had their power cut off due to missed payments. “Beyond the financial stress, high electricity prices are creating real safety risks,” Payless Power said. “More than half of low-income households said they went without heat or air conditioning for several days in the past year because they couldn’t afford it.”

The impact of having one’s electricity shut off has led roughly 30% of the respondents to feel physically unsafe at home during extreme temperatures. Not unlike the challenging economic times found during the Great Depression, nearly one in four sent children or pets away from their home to escape dangerous indoor conditions.

More than half (52%) of low-income households cut back on groceries to pay utility bills, while 16% skipped medication or medical care. Another 19% reduced transportation or internet spending, and 5% missed rent or mortgage payments. As you can imagine, larger families are hit hardest, as households with five or more people were nearly twice as likely to fall behind as those homes with two or fewer individuals at home.

Rising utility costs come as households are already stretched thin by higher housing costs and food prices compounded by a deteriorating labor market. Research from Goldman Sachs shows consumers are absorbing >50% of the cost of President Trump’s widespread tariffs. In a Harris/Axios poll, 47% of Americans said groceries are more difficult to afford than they were in September 2024.

Lastly, as of Q2’25, Moody’s and the Federal Reserve estimate that the top 10% of income earners in the U.S. account for 49.2% of the consumption. This is the highest percentage on record dating back to when data collection began in 1989. A level of concentration such as this is NOT good for the long-term viability of the U.S. economy.