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1 Economic Opportunity Studies, Inc. www.opportunitystudies.org
1
Meg Power, PhD
National Low-Income Energy Consortium
St Louis MO. June 8, 2004
Economic Opportunity Studies, Inc. www.opportunitystudies.org
2
All U.S. Households Reporting Any of 9 Hardships in 1998energy
payment hardship
9% other hardship(s)
reported12%
no hardship79%
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All US Households with Selected 1998 Hardships, by Hardship
0 20 40 60 80 100
all with hardship & without
missed energy payment(s)
no dental care
no doctor care
missed rent or house payment(s)
serious food Hardship(s)
critical food Hardship(s)
phone disconnected
other bill unpaid
energy disconnected/not delivered
evicted
Millions of Households
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9.1 Million Energy Hardship Households
by 1998 Poverty Level
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
OVER 300% FPL
251%-300% FPL
201%-250% FPL
151%--200% FPL
Pov to 150% FPL
in Poverty
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# of Hardships of 9.1 Million Households That Missed 1998 Energy Payments
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Perc
ent
of
House
hold
s
6 ,7, or 8 otherhardships 5 other hardships
4 other hardships
3 other hardships
2 other hardships
1 other hardship
Energy paymentproblem only
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C om m on C lus te rs of O ne A dditiona l Hardship
C rit ica l F ood2 9 .3 %
M issed R en t2 0 %
S k ip p ed N eed ed D en ta l C are2 2 %
M issed 1 or M ore Energy Paym ents Plus One M ore23%
One More
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C om on C lus te rs of T w o A dditiona l Ha rdships
C rit ica l F ood -2 o r m ore t im esD id N ot p ay P h on e B ill
1 9 %
M issed R en tan d P h on e P aym en ts
1 6 %
S k ip p ed N eed ed D oc to r C areC rit ica l F ood
1 5 %
M issed 1 or M ore Energy Paym ents Plus18%
Two More
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C om m on C lus ters of F our A dditiona l Harships
C rit ica l F ood -2 o r m ore t im esD id N ot g e t n eed ed D en ta l an d M ed ica l C are
2 3 %
M issed R en tan d P h on e P aym en t (s )
M issed N eed ed D oc to r an d D en ta l C are1 2 %
S eriou s an d C rit ica l F oodM issed ren t an d P h on e p aym en t (s )
1 5 %
M issed 1 or M ore Energy Paym ents Plus9%
Four More
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Lowest Income = Highest Number of Hardships
$-
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
$30,000
$35,000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
No. of Additional Types of Hardship
Avg. 1998 I
nco
me
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Consumers with Energy Hardships Are: Working
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Not LIHEAP-eligible LIHEAP -eligible
Working full-time
Working<35 hrs./ wk.
Not Working
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Consumers with Energy Hardships Are: Under 65
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Consumers with Energy Hardships Are Typically
• Parents• Not Married
• Not Participants in Government Programs
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Consumers with Energy Hardships Are: On Their
Own!Family:
7%
Friend/ non-relative:
2%
Social services:4%
Other:3%
Did Not Receive Help:
81%
Nonprofit/ church:3%
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Summary: Strategies/Policies Based on
Realities - Consumers who aren’t paying probably
have:– Multiple unpaid bills and hardships– Rented Homes with one or more defects – Families and children– Work, for many irregular, part-time, and low-
wage– Uncertain health care and nutrition– The expectation that they will take care of
their obligations without anyone’s help.
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endnote
• These statistics are measures of household well-being from the 1998 and 2001 cohorts of Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) respondents. http://www.sipp.census.gov/sipp/. The data are from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) 1996 Panel Wave 8 Topical Module; the details of information provided by those who said they were unable to afford their full energy costs were analyzed by EOS and are found at http://www.opportunitystudies.org/weatherization/national.php . See also the SIPP working paper: Kurt Bauman “Direct Measures of Poverty as Indicators of Economic Need: Evidence from the Survey of Income and Program Participation,” U.S. Bureau of the Census Population Division Technical Working Paper No. 30, November 1998.
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