Understanding energy limiting behavior in different climate zones: case studies of three utility service regions

Abstract Energy limiting behavior varies based on regional temperature, leading to different types and levels of energy poverty. We investigate annual household-level electricity consumption patterns of utility customers in three utility regions, one in each a cold, moderate, and hot climate zone, and quantify the proportion of each sample population that would fall into the different categories of energy poverty and insecurity, including those waiting till it's too hot into the summer to turn on their cooling systems, those with higher energy burden, and those likely lacking a working air conditioner or barely using their air conditioner during the cooling season. The ComEd utility region in northern Illinois had roughly equal populations that fall into each category, whereas, in the Utility X region in the Mid-Atlantic, we observe more households turning on their cooling systems when it’s past 78°F than those who do not have an AC or those with energy burden above 6%. In the SRP region in central Arizona, high energy burden and high cooling turn-on points dominate, while very few households have no working AC. Despite the small number of homes without a working AC, this finding is significant as we commonly assume all households in hot climates have ACs. Policy implications of these findings point to a need to establish localized strategies to mitigate different forms of energy poverty and the potential scope impact of these strategies.