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Energy affordability is a top concern for households across the United States, with a recent survey finding that over one-third of households reduced or went without basic necessities like food or medicine to pay an energy bill during the last year. The costs of electricity, heating fuels, and transportation fuels — along with the volatile and unpredictable nature of many of these costs — are straining budgets, especially for low- and moderate-income households that already spend a disproportionate share of their income on energy.
Fortunately, a variety of solutions can improve energy affordability. This hub brings together resources from RMI and other organizations that can help decision-makers understand the drivers of the affordability challenge and the tools available to address it across the electricity, buildings, and transportation sectors.
For the average American household, a little over half of energy expenditures go to gasoline, about a third to electricity, and the remainder to home heating fuels. Energy costs within those categories are shaped by multiple factors, including utility investments, fuel price volatility, inflation, housing and transportation patterns that lock in energy use, and the availability of cost-saving incentives and financing options. Understanding these drivers helps identify where interventions can be most effective.
RMI's Affordability Hub can be filtered by characteristics like sector, solution, and decision-maker to help users quickly find insights relevant to them.
A framework for solutions
Addressing residential energy affordability requires a portfolio of solutions that promote cost control, cost distribution, and customer agency:
Across these three solution sets, safeguards protect low- to moderate-income households from undue energy burden.
The hub allows users to develop effective strategies by organizing resources according to this solution framework.
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Discover key resources that offer valuable insights and practical guidance for energy decision-makers.
Improving affordability requires coordinated action across state and local governments, regulators, utilities, and businesses. Legislatures and public utility commissions develop and implement policies and rate structures; utilities manage investments and customer programs; and businesses provide and pursue solutions. This section allows users to filter resources by decision-maker type to make it easy to find the affordability resources most appropriate for them.
Explore foundational data resources and tools below that help advance energy affordability solutions.
How to cut your car expenses 40-65 percent.
RMI report shows how proactive grid investments can cut costs, boost reliability, and prepare utilities for rising EV charging demand.
RMI and ATE engaged with consumer advocates and electric utilities on proactive planning and investment for distribution systems to prepare for EV growth.
EV purchases are rising, costs are decreasing, and battery technology is improving.
How to boost mobility access, affordability, and activity in your community by lowering the cost of owning an electric bicycle.
RMI’s electric bike calculator quantifies the environmental, social, and economic benefits of replacing short-distance vehicle trips with e-bike trips.
RMI’s Assessment Calculator for Cities simplifies the process of assessing the impact of mode-shift from electric bikes (e-bikes) for policymakers, transportation officials, advocates, and other interested stakeholders.
Increasing access to shared electric mobility options for multifamily housing residents: what stakeholders can do to make it happen.
RMI’s e-bike calculator quantifies the environmental and economic benefits of replacing short-distance vehicle trips with e-bike trips.
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