According to a report released Tuesday, home heating costs are projected to significantly increase over the winter. These increased costs for families come as the Trump administration and congressional Republicans have significantly cut the aid that families receive to cover their energy bills.
The National Energy Assistance Directors Association, a coalition of state directors for low income heating assistance programs, said in its release that heating costs are projected to rise 9.2%. The increase is being driven by colder-than-expected weather and more expensive electricity and natural gas prices.
The group said the average household would pay $84 more than in 2024, when former President Joe Biden was in office. Of particular concern, NEADA noted that electricity prices are at their highest level in ten years, and that the average monthly electric bill is up 10%—outpacing wage growth and overall inflation.
A cartoon by David Horsey
Mark Wolfe, executive director of the group, said in a statement, “These increases may not sound dramatic to higher-income households, but for families already struggling, they are devastating.”
The surging costs come just a few months after the federal government’s program to assist families with energy costs, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program has faced devastating cuts from Republicans.
In April, the Trump administration fired the entire staff of LIHEAP at the direction of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts slammed the action as “sabotage,” mocking the administration’s claim that the move was meant to “reform” the program.
The administration’s proposed 2026 budget, also released in April, called for completely eliminating funding for LIHEAP. The Trump budget document said the assistance program was “unnecessary” and that struggling families needing help with payments could instead rely on “energy dominance, lower prices, and an America First economic platform.”
Congressional Republicans piled on to the problem by cutting funding to LIHEAP by nearly $2 billion from $6.1 billion under the Biden administration to $4 billion in allocations now.
At the same time the Trump administration has been pushing for the expansion of artificial intelligence without state regulation. Not only can this put children and other vulnerable communities at risk for exploitation, but data centers vital to building out AI infrastructure are massive consumers of electricity and are contributing to increased energy costs.
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In a statement to The New York Times, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers made it clear the administration doesn’t care about the rising costs. “High energy prices are a choice—blue states like California and Maine are stubbornly choosing green energy scam policies that are making electricity bills unaffordable,” she told them.
Under Trump the U.S. is already facing what some experts have called a “hiring recession” as Trump’s tariffs increase the costs of business. Despite increasing costs, Trump has falsely argued that affordability is merely a “hoax” from Democrats.
Now energy costs are on their way up and the GOP has set themselves up for even more blame as conditions worsen.
