EWG: California’s extreme heat, soaring utility bills make cooling unaffordable for millions

California is experiencing more frequent and dangerous heat days, but sky-high utility bills mean millions of people can’t afford to run air conditioning that could keep them safe, a new Environmental Working Group report finds.

EWG is calling on policy makers to prioritize solutions like customer-sited solar electric devices that can drastically lower or eliminate annual utility costs for air conditioning.

Heat advisory days defined as “extreme” or “major” – those threatening the health of anyone without cooling or hydration – jumped an average of 55% statewide over the last two decades, the report shows. Increases in the number of these days ranged from 30% to 145% depending on the region.

At the same time, California families are spending $4 billion a year on home air conditioning, adding$95 to $800 to annual utility bills. Almost 7 million ratepayers are already in some form of utility debt and paying some of the highest electricity bills in the U.S.

The result is an impossible choice for many households: Either risk the harmful effects of exposure to extreme heat or get needed cooling relief and fall further behind on utility bills.

“California is getting hotter and many families throughout the state can’t afford to stay safe from the heat because electricity is so expensive,” said Josh Wink, EWG fellow and report co-author. “Californians shouldn’t have to pick between making ends meet or suffering the health threats of extreme heat, but that’s the situation millions are now in.”

EWG found California counties averaged 191 days, or 52.3%, of the year that the National Weather Service defines as experiencing major or extreme heat risk.

These days put people at risk of heat stroke, severe dehydration, mental health challenges, and other forms of heat injury. Even “minor” hot days can threaten the safety of heat-sensitive people, although the major and extreme days are of the biggest concern.

The increase in these days over the last 20 years includes:

• San Francisco: 145% increase
• Sacramento County: 111.4% increase
• Santa Clara County: 100% increase
• Riverside County: 58.1% increase
• Fresno: 54.6% increase
• San Diego County: 40.2% increase
• Los Angeles County: 30.8% increase

Rising heat isn’t just an inland problem. Traditionally mild coastal regions are also seeing steep jumps in major and extreme heat days, though the range varies significantly. For example, San Francisco saw 2 days on average compared to 42 days in San Bernardino County, with other areas falling somewhere between both ranges.

While coastal communities experience less frequent extreme heat, they are also the least equipped to cope with the soaring heat. Only 70% of these communities have home air conditioning compared to 92%in inland counties, according to U.S. Census data. In some areas, like San Francisco, it’s as low as 35%.

Renters also lack equal access to air conditioning. Statewide, 64% of two- to four-bedroom apartment units have air conditioning, EWG found, compared with 80% of single-family homes statewide.

“We often hear from our partners who do home visits for asthma about families having to choose between opening their windows to cool their homes but allowing the smoke in and impacting their child’s asthma or keeping their windows closed so their child can breathe, but suffering from unsafe temperatures in the house,” said Brandon Kitagawa, Senior Policy Associate with Regional Asthma Management & Prevention, a project of the Public Health Institute.

“To be clear, making homes resilient to extreme heat will be difficult. It will require significant investment in building retrofits and eliminating barriers to implementation, but the benefits for our communities’ health and wellbeing is worth it.

“We will need every tool at our disposal to address this challenge, so we are happy to see the state considering steps to make the adoption of balcony solar easier in California, as it would reduce the cost of using air conditioning, particularly when it is most needed,” added Kitagawa.

According to U.S. Census data, 78.61% of California households statewide have access to air conditioning devices at home, but that prevalence varies widely by dwelling type and region.

“No matter where someone lives in California, they are facing heat risks that would have been unimaginable two decades ago. Many are in homes not built for this kind of heat,” said Wink.

Even though home cooling is a vital resource, ever-increasing utility bills mean some residents opt against using air conditioning to prevent making the bills even worse. An estimated 7 million Californians are behind on their bills.

Customer-sited solar electric generating devices – whether rooftop solar or smaller balcony solar systems – are a proven way to bring down or even fully cover cooling costs, EWG’s research shows.

A typical residential rooftop solar system generates enough electricity to cover a home’s central air conditioning needs for a year. Even a balcony plug-in solar system can help, producing enough power to offset the electricity that a window air conditioning unit needs.

But red tape makes it hard for many Californians to access solar. That’s why EWG is supporting SB 868, introduced by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). If enacted, it would cut through those barriers and make it easier for renters and homeowners to get these systems. The bill cleared the Senate in May and is pending in the Assembly.

“Access to balcony solar is a no-brainer in terms of lowering people’s costs, increasing generation of clean, renewable energy, and just giving people the ability to control at least part of their energy future,” said Wiener. “So it’s really important and I’m really excited that we’re almost at the finish line.”

EWG recommends that state policymakers prioritize expanding access to residential solar of all types and sizes in response to the extreme heat.

NOTE: EWG hosted a virtual press briefing on the new analysis featuring Josh Wink, Dr. Hayley Miller, Brandon Kitagawa and Sen. Scott Weiner. The recording of the event can be found here.

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The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action. Visit www.ewg.org for more information.