Pandemic Electric Bills Are Searing Hot, As Families Stay Home

[Sherman A1]

Summer temperatures in Glendale, Ariz., frequently climb to 110 degrees.

"I can go outside and scramble eggs on the sidewalk," says Glendale resident Leandra Ramirez. "That's crazy."

Air conditioning is essential. And now that she and her family are at home all day during the pandemic, Ramirez's AC is running around the clock.

With lights out in many offices and shuttered businesses, millions of people — both with and without jobs — are plugging in at home. Residential demand for power in the U.S. has soared, even as commercial and industrial use have declined.

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/17/902649824/pandemic-electric-bills-are-searing-hot-as-families-stay-home?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. When we were living in Phoenix

1983-1987, we were aware of elderly people who would spend all day at the mall in the summer because they couldn't afford the cost of nonstop a/c in their home. It was genuinely sad.