According to analysts’ warnings, electric bills will be even larger than ever this summer, adding to the pain of high inflation and record-high fuel costs.
Recent estimates from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicate that electricity prices will rise by a national average of 3.9% this summer, a significant increase over last summer. Even in areas where conservation of energy is practiced, expenditures will be up at least 0.9%.
Certain regions of the country will be hit especially hard this summer. New England is likely to see a more significant increase. The area relies heavily on natural gas and oil for more than half of its total power supply.
Forecasters also predicted a dry and scorching summer. The EIA report says citizens can expect their energy bills to rise by nearly 10% over the summer.
As per the cost of Gasoline, there is no end in sight to the continued surge in prices at the pump. According to the EIA report, residents in the Mid-Atlantic region can expect an additional price increase of roughly 8.4%. The report also notes that residents in the South Atlantic region could see an estimated 6.5% higher price.
Add to that soaring consumer prices, rent prices that have increased by double digits in most major cities, and gas prices that surpassed $4 per gallon in every U.S. state for the first time in history, and that could change the bills from burdensome to crippling.
According to Fox Business., Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission sent a notice to its customers earlier this month, warning that “most utilities will be adjusting their prices for electric generation on June 1.” The company said that many of its customers “will see sharp increases in energy costs as summer approaches, ranging between 6% and 45% depending on their electric utility.”
Energy inflation is impacting most Americans, and the summer will bring even more strain on the average family’s budget.