If You Need Help with Paying Electric Bills, Here Are 7 Things You Can Do Today
- Rising electric costs are making it harder for Americans to make ends meet.
- There are ways to get help paying your electric bills, including federal programs like LIHEAP.
- Reducing the cost of your debt can leave more money to pay those electric bills.
Table of Contents
Free up cash each month with Freedom Debt Relief
Ozzy S., Freedom client²
“Right away, I had more money each month because of program costs so much less than what I was paying on my minimums.”
Excellent •
Heat waves. Cold snaps. Have you been stunned by the size of your electric bill this year? If you have, it's not just you.
Fast-rising electricity bills are taking a bigger bite out of household budgets. With a lot of Americans already in need of debt relief, a big electric bill can be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
While you may be juggling bills from many sources, electricity bills are different—they can be quite unpredictable, with extreme peaks and valleys. Plus, the consequences of not paying an electric bill are especially severe, since in some cases it can result in shut-off.
If you need help paying your electric bill, a range of options may help bring a potential crisis under control.
The 21st-Century Energy Crisis
Electricity prices have been rising faster than the general inflation rate. AI data centers are rapidly increasing demand on electricity grids, and that demand is expected to accelerate. Cryptocurrency mining represents another new source of demand. These emerging high-volume users compete with individual households for access to electricity.
In other words, high demand for electricity is not a temporary condition caused by a harsh winter—it's a long-term trend expected to continue. Whenever demand increases, rising prices tend to follow.
How Electricity Bills Add to Household Debt
Those rising prices come at a time when debt is already stretching many household budgets.
The total amount of debt owed by U.S. households is at an all-time high. The percentage of credit card debt more than 90 days overdue is the highest it's been since early 2011.
In this environment, people are increasingly struggling to pay their electricity bills. Nearly one in 20 US households has a seriously overdue energy bill. That number has been rising.
In late-2025, the average balance owed on those overdue energy bills was $789. That's up by 32% just since the beginning of 2022.
Families With Poor Credit Are Getting the Worst of It
For families struggling to pay their energy bills, the problem can be even worse than the average numbers make it seem. The burden of rising energy debt falls especially heavily on families with weak credit scores.
In recent years, the percentage increase in the average energy utility bill has been the highest for people with deep subprime credit scores. Those same households also typically owe the most on overdue energy bills.
Consequences of Not Paying Your Electric Bill
For families already struggling with debt, not being able to pay an electric bill can make the struggle even harder.
If you miss the due date on a bill, the utility company may charge a late fee. After your bill becomes seriously overdue, the company may cut off your electricity. To get it turned back on, you could have to pay more than your past due bills—you could face a reconnection fee on top of that. You may also have to keep some money on deposit with the utility company to prevent future issues.
If you can't pay what you owe, the electric company may send the bill to a collections agency. Having a collection account on your record can cause long-term damage to your credit score. That could make future borrowing even more expensive.
7 Things to Do if You're Having Trouble Paying Your Electric Bill
All unpaid bills are a problem, but electric bills are especially harmful. You risk the usual financial and credit score damage of missing payments, and you also face losing access to electrical power in your home.
Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do when you can’t pay your bills.
1. Contact your utility company about paying over time
If you receive an electric bill you can't pay, contact the electric company immediately. They may be willing to work out a plan for you to pay the bill over time.
The worst thing you can do when you can't pay a bill is ignore it. If you aren't working with the electric company to deal with it, they may hit you with late fees.
2. Sign up for budgeted payments that avoid peaks and valleys
One reason people struggle with energy bills is that the amounts can vary greatly from month to month. This is especially true in areas of the country that are subject to extreme heat or cold during parts of the year.
Some utility companies let you set up a plan to even out your electric bills over the course of the year based on past and expected usage. This means paying more during the months when usage is normally lower, but it should cushion the shock of getting hit with a monster bill when usage is high.
3. Apply for federal aid
Look into federal programs to help low-income households with energy bills.
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) can help you with energy payments and other assistance. This program is administered through the states, and each one has its own requirements. You start by finding information on LIHEAP assistance in your area through a federal website.
There's also a federal program called the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). WAP provides low-income households with financial aid to make their homes less vulnerable to temperature extremes. That could help ease your energy bills.
4. Find out if you are protected by state programs
Besides federal programs, some states also offer assistance with energy emergencies.
For example, 42 states have policies protecting people from having electricity disconnected in cold weather, and 19 states have similar policies for periods of extreme heat.
The federal government provides a centralized webpage with information on state-specific programs in your area.
5. Contact local charities for aid
If state and local assistance isn't enough, find out if local charities provide emergency aid for energy bills.
6. Rework your budget to prioritize electricity payments
Today's households face all kinds of bills that compete for attention. However, electricity bills should be treated as especially urgent.
Make energy payments a top priority in your budget, along with food and housing payments. Then decide what less-essential spending you may need to cut to make room for those top priorities.
If you don’t pay your electric bill, you could face a shutoff. If you don’t pay your credit card, your account could go to collections. Both are serious, but only one risks your health and safety.
7. Look for ways to reduce usage
As energy prices rise, it’s an ideal time to look for ways to reduce energy usage. That may not help with any current energy debt, but it could make future bills more affordable.
Debt Relief Could Help You Find Room for Utility Payments
Rising energy costs are eating up a larger portion of Americans’ budgets. You can't make those bills go away, so the answer may be to find more room in your budget for them.
One way to do this is to reduce what you pay on other debts. Here are some options:
Consolidate high-interest debt.
Seek debt relief to reduce the amount you owe.
Consider bankruptcy if debt is unaffordable.
Author Information
Written by
Richard Barrington
Richard Barrington has over 20 years of experience in the investment management business and has been a financial writer for 15 years. Barrington has appeared on Fox Business News and NPR, and has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, CNBC and many other publications. Prior to beginning his investment career Barrington graduated magna cum laude from St. John Fisher College with a BA in Communications in 1983. In 1991, he earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation from the Association of Investment Management and Research (now the "CFA Institute").
Reviewed by
Kimberly Rotter
Kimberly Rotter is a financial counselor and consumer credit expert who helps people with average or low incomes discover how to create wealth and opportunities. She’s a veteran writer and editor who has spent more than 30 years creating thousands of hours of educational content in every possible format.
Do unpaid electric bills affect my credit score?
Yes. Unpaid electric bills can hurt your credit score if they're referred to a collection agency and that’s reported to the credit bureaus.
Are bills higher this year because of the harsh winter?
Weather is a temporary part of the problem. The longer-term cause of higher electric bills is increased demand. AI data centers and cryptocurrency mining have contributed to this long-term trend.
Should I use a credit card to pay an electric bill?
Only pay your electric bill with a credit card if you can pay the balance off at the end of the billing cycle. Using a credit card could help you avoid a late fee on your electric bill. However, credit card interest is expensive. You could add significantly to the cost of your electric bills if you carry that cost on your card balance for an extended time.