| NSF Org: |
SES Division of Social and Economic Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 13, 2020 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 13, 2020 |
| Award Number: | 2029684 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Robert O'Connor
roconnor@nsf.gov (703)292-7263 SES Division of Social and Economic Sciences SBE Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences |
| Start Date: | July 15, 2020 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $191,690.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $191,690.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
107 S INDIANA AVE BLOOMINGTON IN US 47405-7000 (317)278-3473 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
1315 E. 10th Street Bloomington IN US 47405-1701 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Decision, Risk & Mgmt Sci |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.075 |
ABSTRACT
This project examines the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on energy insecurity among low-income U.S. households. Energy insecurity, which is when a household is unable to pay its energy bills, is a significant problem for low-income Americans, among other groups. In 2015, for example, approximately 14 million households reported that they had unpaid utility bills; 17 million had received a disconnect notice from a utility company; and 2 million were disconnected from the electric grid. When a household faces energy insecurity, the residents may engage in risky coping strategies, including financial decisions and dangerous household heating behaviors. Such households may also have to make difficult tradeoffs between energy and food, health services, or other necessities. The problem of household energy insecurity is likely to grow due to the economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The results from this project include immediately salient information about the extent of energy insecurity among vulnerable U.S. households and reveal the ways in which affected people are coping with their energy costs through formal government assistance programs, social networks and connections, and other strategies. The results provide critical information to policymakers, utilities and electricity providers, nonprofit leaders, and other stakeholders that are designing and implementing the response to COVID-19.
The researchers administer a four-wave panel survey of low-income U.S. households (i.e., income at or below 200% of the federal poverty line) to examine the prevalence of energy insecurity and the strategies that people are using to cope with additional material hardship generated by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel survey of a nationally-representative sample of low-income households begin during the early stages of displacement, and then re-interview study participants three times over the succeeding 12 months. The main objectives are to measure and evaluate whether: 1) households that are more sensitive to energy insecurity are already worse off, and if matters continue to worsen in subsequent periods as economic displacement continues; 2) households able to access financial assistance programs and social networks are better off than those that cannot; 3) households that suffer material hardship, and experience more severe energy insecurity, adopt more risky coping strategies; and 4) households with access to relief programs are less likely to cope through risky financial and behavioral decisions. The project provides new theoretical and empirical insights into energy insecurity in the U.S., building on the research team?s previous adaptation of the Vulnerability Scoping Diagram framework to conceptualize household energy insecurity. This framework, enhanced by insights from research on household decision-making during crises, provides theoretically-informed hypotheses about how household energy insecurity is likely to be affected by the economic displacement caused by the government response to COVID-19. The survey designed for this project will be the first panel study in the energy insecurity literature, enabling the researchers to measure key concepts over time at the individual level and capture baseline conditions during a period when insecurity is likely to be amplified by sudden material hardship. Moreover, the survey provides for the consideration of numerous types of sensitivity to policy-induced material hardship as well as measurement of both formal and informal coping strategies.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This study examines the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on energy insecurity among low-income U.S. households. Energy insecurity – understood as the uncertainty that a household can pay its energy bills or access its basic residential energy needs – is prevalent for many low-income Americans. The inability to afford electricity and other critical household energy services can result in adverse mental and physical health outcomes, force people to make difficult tradeoffs between energy and other necessities such as food and medical services, and to adopt coping strategies, such as risky financial decisions (e.g., using payday lending) or dangerous heating behaviors (e.g., burning trash, using ovens or space heaters).
The objectives of this project are to measure the prevalence of energy insecurity among low-income households before and during the pandemic and to identify how it affects material and physical well-being. More specifically, in the project we measure and evaluate: 1) rates of energy insecurity prior to and during the pandemic, including the persistence of energy insecurity over the first year of the pandemic; 2) whether households able to access financial assistance programs and social networks are better off than those that cannot; 3) if households that suffer material hardship, and experience more severe energy insecurity, adopt more risky coping strategies; and 4) if policies put in place to protect people from losing assess to energy service are effective.
To analyze these issues, we designed and administered a four-wave panel survey to a nationally-representative sample of U.S. adults with household incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. Through the panel survey, we follow a group of households from the early months of the pandemic (April/May 2020) through a full calendar year (May 2021).
Among the significant results from the project, we find that energy insecurity is a pervasive problem in the United States that affects millions of American households. The COVID-19 pandemic made the problem worse, especially during its early months. We further find that, for most households who experience energy insecurity, it is a recurring experience. For example, the inability to pay an energy bill or the risk of a utility disconnection are not a one-time experience, but one that occurs on a regular basis for many households.
Moreover, there are important disparities in the incidence of energy insecurity. Households of color are much more likely to be energy insecure and, in particular, be disconnected by their service providers. For example, we found that Black households are more than three times as likely to be disconnected than White households, all else constant, and Hispanics are four times more likely. There are other disparities as well: households with vulnerable populations were more likely to be energy insecure, including young children and those who rely on electronic medical devices. The underlying reason for these racial disparities is only partially explained by higher energy burdens and inefficient housing.
Households engage in coping strategies to deal with energy insecurity, and the more common strategies are also the riskiest (e.g., using an open oven for heat, taking on debt, or forgoing expenses on food). The households that engage in the most, and the riskiest, strategies are also the more vulnerable households (e.g., with small children and medically compromised individuals).
Temporary utility disconnection protections that were put in place during the pandemic offered much needed relief to energy insecure households – it helped them avoid disconnection and not have to curtail food consumption to pay their bills. Long-standing disconnection protections, on the other hand, offered little additional relief over the course of the year between May 2020 and May 2021.
The activities and results of this project provide new measures and approaches for studying energy insecurity, and reveal the value of conducting longitudinal data collection on this issue. The project also underscores the need for targeted public policies and programs to help vulnerable households during times of both short-term and persistent energy insecurity.
Last Modified: 09/19/2022
Modified by: David Konisky
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