RESEARCH BRIEFING: ADDRESSING THE GROWING ENERGY-AFFORDABILITY-POVERTY NEXUS IN TEXAS

Texas — the nation’s largest energy producer and consumer — is experiencing a succession of heat waves taxing the state’s electric grid and consumers’ wallets.  High temperatures are pushing electricity consumption to new heights every month, while electricity prices have risen more than 70 percent during the past year.  

And although Texas enjoys extraordinary wealth, one-third of Texans have low incomes and live in energy poverty, with the combination of high heat and high electricity prices threatening their health and pocketbooks.

To help address this issue, and since August is historically Texas' hottest month, CGMF presented "Heat, Energy, Affordability & Equity," an online research briefing, with a roundtable of experts illuminating the growing energy, affordability, and poverty nexus in Texas—information and perspective on the implications of heat and high energy costs for all Texans.

View the Briefing >>

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NEWS SUMMARY >>

Climate change hitting poor Texans the hardest, experts discuss ways to fix that

James Russell | Quorum Report | August 9, 2022

Politico's Power Switch: Future warming's inequitable toll across U.S.

Arianna Skibell | Politico | August 15, 2022

[includes zip code locator breaking down where extreme heat will hit hardest in future]

Rise in extreme heat will hit minority communities the hardest

Thomas Frank | E&E ClimateWire | August 9, 2022