Out of all months on record,
July 2026 was the hottest ever in the U.S. That means that people across the country desperately needed cooling systems - and therefore electricity - in order to stay safe and protect themselves from the heat.
But across the country,
utility companies have been cutting off electricity for households at an alarming rate. That means no air conditioning, no fans, and few options to stay cool. That can
quickly turn deadly.Utility companies should not be allowed to turn off access to electricity during extreme weather events, or when temperatures have passed safe thresholds. Sign the petition!Compared with two years ago, the rate of utility companies turning off electricity for households is up 28%. That's especially alarming because in 2024, already around
13.4 million households throughout the country had faced disconnections. Data from this year is still being collected and analyzed. But already we know that in 10 different states, utility companies cut off electricity for around
173,598 households. Since this only represents 1/5 of the number of states, the full number of disconnections is obviously much, much higher.
Why are so many households being disconnected? Because utility costs are surging to unfathomable heights. Out of every six households in the US, one is now behind in paying their expensive energy bills. One elderly woman living in Texas, 70-year-old Carol, said that during the summers, her utility bills have climbed all the way to
$600 each month, which is completely unaffordable.
She said: "
I've had panic attacks worrying about my electricity bill. If my daughter didn't help out I would probably have ended up homeless or close to it."
Going without air conditioning, either because of the cost or because of disconnection, is dangerous.
As heat domes and heat waves are increasing in intensity and frequency, so are heat-related deaths. An analysis by NPR and Boston University found that some years, more than 10,000 people in the US die from heat.
"Poorer people and older people aren't turning on the AC because of the cost and when you get back-to-back heatwaves they may die because of that," according to Mark Wolfe, the executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA).
As climate change worsens, extreme heat events are only going to worsen as well. It is inhumane to shut off people's access to life-saving cooling systems, especially as we dive further into a climate crisis. This is especially dangerous for older people, pregnant people, children, and people with pre-existing health conditions.
Luckily, 23 states as well as Washington, DC have all implemented rules that ban utility companies from disconnecting electricity during extreme heat events. But more than half the country still does not. That means that, regardless of the temperature, people can still be cut off from electricity, cooling, and even heating.
Sign the petition to demand that the rest of U.S. state legislatures pass laws prohibiting utility cut-offs when temperatures rise or fall below safe temperature thresholds! No one should die from heat and cold in this era.