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A ‘Tsunami of Shutoffs’: 20 Million US Homes Are Behind on Energy Bills

Surging electricity prices spur worst-ever crisis in late utility payments.

About 1 in 6 American households are behind on their utility bills, the highest number on record, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.

About 1 in 6 American households are behind on their utility bills, the highest number on record, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.

Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

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Adrienne Nice woke up early on the morning of July 25 to news she’d been dreading. The power company, Xcel Energy Inc., had shut off the electricity to the small Minneapolis apartment she shares with her teenage son, just as a heat wave was bearing down on the city.

Nice had been struggling financially ever since the pandemic hit, racking up more than $3,000 in past-due utility bills. The warnings she’d gotten on her monthly statement—“FINAL NOTICE” scrawled in big, bold letters—had prepared her to some degree, but it was still jarring to find the fridge dark and the air conditioner silent. With temperatures set to reach 95F (35C) in the coming days, she needed the power back on, and fast.