Aissa Canchola Banez, policy director for Protect Borrowers, said the average bill has risen considerably over the past few years and utility costs are now taking up a larger amount of families' budgets.
"They've grown significantly across Appalachia and parts of the South," Banez observed. "We know that in Kentucky, for example, energy bills have increased more than 26%."
The explosion of artificial intelligence data centers, along with their high demand for energy, is sending household utility costs nationwide through the roof. Data from Protect Borrowers showed Black households are three times as likely as white households to carry overdue utility balances.
The issue is exacerbating overall debt, including medical and student loan debt, which many households also are struggling to repay. Beginning this year, the Trump administration is resuming wage garnishment for student loan borrowers who have been unable to make payments for at least nine months. Banez argued utility debt is only worsening the crisis, as borrowers face a mountain of different payments.
"These are folks who have fallen so severely behind that they are experiencing, or set to experience, being subjected to debt collection as a result," Banez noted.
Around one in six U.S. households are currently behind on their utility bills as of late 2025, with total household energy debt reaching about $23 billion, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.
