One in five Americans can't afford their heating bills this winter as the seasonal cost nears $1,000 on average

MW One in five Americans can't afford their heating bills this winter as the seasonal cost nears $1,000 on average

Andrew Keshner

A huge winter storm this weekend could be just the latest strain on Americans' utility expenses

The average winter bill for electric-heated homes will exceed $1,000 across the country, according to projections from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.

The massive winter storm forecast for this weekend could put much of the country into a deep freeze, and the mercury is plummeting at a time when utility bills are skyrocketing.

Over 200 million people in the South, Midwest and Northeast are expected to get pummeled with snow, sleet, freezing rain and arctic temperatures starting Friday, and new data show that Americans are facing increasing financial pressure in keeping their homes warm this winter.

The winter gas and electric bills in these regions could climb by 10% or more over last year, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. Winter bills for electric-heated homes will exceed $1,000 across the country, according to the organization's projections.

Factoring in all fuel sources and all regions, households will spend an average of $995 on their heating bills this winter, the NEADA said.

The NEADA counts the winter period as stretching from November to mid-March. But for some households, $1,000 isn't a full season's heating cost - it's one billing cycle.

Reddit (RDDT) is filled with posts from people blindsided by expensive utility costs - and some mention four-figure bills. One Pennsylvania resident posted about their bill jumping from $500 to $1,000 in one month for a 2,600-square-foot home where three people live. In another recent post, a new homeowner with electric heat and appliances asked about a $1555.25 bill. Some commenters on a post from a renter floored by an $800 bill spoke of seeing bills around $1,000.

As costs increase, so does the number of people who are behind on paying them.

Roughly 16% of households were behind on their utility bills last year, owing approximately $23 billion, according to NEADA data. That was up from $21 billion in 2024 and $18.6 billion in 2023, said Mark Wolfe, executive director of NEADA, which is a group of state directors who carry out a federal program that helps low-income families with heating and cooling bills.

"If current trends continue, arrears could reach around $28 billion in 2026 as higher electricity and natural gas costs collide with broader inflation in essentials like rent, food and medical care, stretching household budgets further," Wolfe said.

The average overdue balance on utility bills increased to $789 from $597 between 2022 and mid-2025, according to research from the Century Foundation, an independent progressive think tank, and Protect Borrowers, a nonprofit aimed at helping people who are burdened by debt.

Twenty-two percent of people said they were not able to pay their full bill or currently owed money to their utility company, according to a J.D. Power survey released Thursday.

While government programs have traditionally been geared toward helping low-income households, Wolfe said fast-rising utility costs are now also threatening the finances of working-class and middle-class households who make too much money to qualify for assistance from those programs.

The surging utility costs stem from several causes. There's rising electricity demand, due in part to power-thirsty artificial-intelligence data centers. Rising natural-gas prices play a part, as do expensive upgrades to power grids. The end result is another pressure point for consumers already weary of increasing costs and rising debts.

Natural gas is the main heating source for nearly half of U.S. households, while four in 10 homes use electricity as their main heating source, Census Bureau data show.

The Edison Electric Institute, an association of investor-owned electric companies, said its members are focused on keeping costs as low as possible. "As demand grows in our evolving economy, we will continue building on our long track record of delivering customer savings and supporting families facing financial hardships," a spokesperson said.

Member companies have poured millions of dollars into customer relief funds and financial-assistance programs, the organization noted.

But rising energy costs are still taking a toll on people's financial well-being.

Last year, homeowners owed $374 in unpaid utility costs on average when they first came to Money Management International, a nonprofit debt counselor. That was a 12% increase from the unpaid utility costs one year earlier, according to the organization.

MMI's data on utilities encompass electricity, gas, water, sewer and trash-removal bills. These represent one part of the rising costs that have been pushing people to the debt counselor. Even though clients' monthly incomes are higher than before, their household budget shortfalls are growing.

At GreenPath Financial Wellness, a nonprofit financial-counseling organization, fewer people cited utility bills as the top reason they were calling for help in January and December compared with a year earlier, said Brian Brown, program quality assurance specialist at the organization. But when utility bills are the top reason, the unpaid balances are higher than before.

For example, Michigan clients with unpaid utility balances owed $5,570 on average last year, up from $4,935 in 2024.

The calls related to utility bills tend to increase in the spring, Brown said. That's after the yearly window closes for state laws that prevent utilities from cutting off service for customers whose bills go unpaid during the winter. It's also after funding for winter heating assistance runs out.

People shouldn't wait if they are considering asking for help with their bills, Brown said. "We encourage people who are struggling with utility bills to familiarize themselves with these types of government protections and programs to understand what kind of assistance is available and when that assistance may decline or run out."

ACA International, a trade association for the debt-collection industry, said shutdown protections are important because they prevent utilities from cutting off power when consumers need it most. But such safeguards do not make the bills go away.

"So what you often see is past-due balances building through the winter, with any collection activity more likely to happen later, once those seasonal protections end and regular processes resume," the trade group said. There has been a stable flow of utility-related unpaid accounts going into collections, but once an account is in collections, unpaid balances have grown sizeably, it added.

People tend to prioritize utility debt in order to avoid having their power shut off, Wolfe said. "Utility goes to the front of the line."

That puts power prices front of mind for consumers, Wolfe said. "Electricity is now part of the affordability problem."

-Andrew Keshner

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January 23, 2026 11:20 ET (16:20 GMT)

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