What’s happening: A study and its ensuing report, conducted by Atlanta’s
Greenlink Analytics and commissioned by the
Southern Environmental Law Center, has further shed light on an issue that affects nearly half of all Memphians – and an expensive one at that. More than 48 percent of Memphians face high energy burdens, and more than 30,000 families in Shelby County experience what are considered to be severe energy burdens.
What it means: The energy burden measurement determines what percentage of a household’s income is used to pay utility bills. A
high energy burden is when that number reaches above six percent; a
severe energy burden is when that number reaches north of 20 percent.
Bills, bills, bills: The national average for energy burden is below four percent yet the median energy burden in Memphis is 5.6 percent, with more than 48 percent of Memphians qualifying as navigating
high energy burdens. And in Shelby County, roughly 30,000 households are in the
severe category of energy burdens, paying more than 20 percent, or one-fifth, of their income toward their energy bills.
Inequities persist: Predominantly Black communities are especially hit hard by their energy burdens. The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) points to South Memphis as but one example, where residents there experience a median energy burden of seven percent.
“This study shows what we regularly hear from community members in South Memphis. Too many families in South Memphis are forced to go without basic needs like food, housing, and medicine because a large portion of their income is being used to pay their utility bills,” says KeShaun Pearson, president of
Memphis Community Against Pollution.
Why it is: Though there are numerous factors contributing to high energy burdens, the SELC singles out inefficient homes as a significant cause. These are homes that may not be insulated properly, and/or have inefficient heating, cooling, lighting, and appliances.
How to fix it: The SELC calls on the Tennessee Valley Authority to invest less in building new fossil fuel plants and invest more in energy efficiency programs for its customers.
“TVA should be aggressively ramping up investments in energy efficiency programs that could provide relief to tens of thousands of Memphians that are struggling to keep the lights on. Instead, it is just plowing ahead with plans to build expensive and outdated methane gas plants,” says Amanda Garcia, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “So far, TVA has refused to look at energy efficiency as part of a strategy to avoid forcing customers to foot the bill for its multi-billion-dollar gas expansion. Building unnecessary new gas plants will make it even more difficult for struggling families to pay their power bills.”
Visit Southern Environmental Law Center online to learn more about the report and its solutions for high energy burdens in Memphis and Shelby County.
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