by Jack McEvoy
The White House announced Wednesday that the Biden administration will spend $13.5 billion total to directly cover rapidly increasing household utility bills and help homes become more energy efficient ahead of the winter months.
The Department of Health and Human Services will give $4.5 billion to local governments to help low-income people pay their electricity bills which will increase further during the winter months due to natural gas shortages, according to a White House fact sheet. The Energy Department will also spend $9 billion on tax credits for households that buy heat pumps and insulate their homes to make them more “energy efficient.”
Roughly 17% of American households have recently not paid their energy bill or paid it late due to financial constraints, according to a September Bank of America and Civic Science survey. The share of households struggling to pay their utility bills went up to 25% among households earning less than $50,000 a year.
Americans will pay roughly 10% more to heat their homes this winter due to the rising prices of natural gas, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Natural gas is in short supply globally as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted exports, which is raising prices for the 48% of Americans that use gas for heating.
The Biden administration has blocked and delayed offshore oil and gas production which would help lower energy costs for Americans, according to an Interior Department report. President Joe Biden seeks to rapidly phase out fossil fuels and switch to green energy in order to combat the “climate crisis.”
Fossil fuels accounted for over 60% of electricity generation in 2021 while renewables accounted for 20%, according to the EIA.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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Jack McEvoy is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
