Funds to Help Low-Income Families With Summer Electric Bills Are Stretched Thin

I recently report with my Inside Climate News colleague Jenaye Johnson on the federal program to help families pay for utility bills.

“In San Elizario, Texas, tucked between cotton fields and the U.S.-Mexico border fence, nearly 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

When the summer heat hits here, electric bills skyrocket—and paying them is a struggle. Olivia Figueroa, executive director of the local organization AYUDA Inc., has lost track of how many people have sought help.

‘Let’s say that if we get 30 calls a day, at least half of them are asking about funds to help pay their water or electric bill,’ Figueroa said in Spanish. ‘And at the moment we don’t have any funding.'”

You can read the full story here.

Funds to Help Low-Income Families With Summer Electric Bills Are Stretched Thin