Rising Utility Costs Compound California's Housing Crisis
Source: KQED | By Vanessa Rancaño
A quarter of California households reported being unable to pay their utility bills in October, according to a Census survey, resulting in what Columbia University public health professor Diana Hernández and others call energy insecurity, or the “heat or eat dilemma.” “It’s almost like a game of Russian roulette,” she said, describing the monthly juggle low-income families face. “Today’s unpaid energy bill is tomorrow’s eviction notice. And that cycle is a very real one.”
“Many people who lose access to utilities end up moving in with others, restarting their utilities under someone else’s name, or leaving the state,” said Mark Toney, executive director of the consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network. “But some of those people absolutely do end up homeless,” he said.
