Tsunami of shutoffs: Unpaid power bills by 20 million US homes

About 1 in 6 American homes or more than 20 million households have fallen behind on their utility bills, creating the worst crisis the country has ever seen.

The surging utility bills are in part due to higher natural gas prices. In the US, the price of natural gas has soared more than 150% year-to-date amid increased demand for the fuel from both overseas markets and at home.

According to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), those households owe a combined $16 billion in unpaid utility bills, double the pre-pandemic total. The average balance owed has climbed 97% since 2019, to $792.

The power bill crisis is even more acute in Europe, where the spike in natural gas prices has been far greater in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and summer heat waves.