Electricity shutoffs rose 28% across 10 US states during record-hot July

Electricity utilities disconnected 173,598 households across 10 US states in July 2026, 28% more than in July 2024, according to figures supplied to The Guardian. The increase came during the hottest month recorded for the contiguous United States, raising the stakes for households that rely on electricity to cool their homes. The 10-state count is a partial picture, not a nationwide total.

The National Energy Assistance Directors Association, or NEADA, compiled the figures, The Guardian reported. Its 10-state group includes New York, Georgia, California and Illinois. Because not every state requires utilities to report shutoffs, the count cannot show how many households nationwide lost service in July 2026 or whether the same percentage increase occurred elsewhere. The underlying state and utility figures were not available in the published material reviewed for this account.

Record heat and an incomplete count

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration measured an average July temperature of 76.9°F across the contiguous US, 3.3°F above the 20th-century average. It was the warmest month in the agency’s 132-year record. July’s average overnight low was also a record: 64.2°F, or 3.7°F above average. Those measurements establish the heat in which the reported disconnections occurred; they do not establish that heat caused the increase in shutoffs.

A separate federal survey shows the scale of disconnections beyond the 10 states. The US Energy Information Administration recorded 13.4 million residential electricity disconnections nationwide during 2024, including 967,012 in July of that year. The annual figure counts disconnection events, and the same customer account can appear more than once. It is therefore not a count of 13.4 million distinct households and cannot be directly compared with the newly reported 10-state July figure.

Households describe difficult choices

NEADA executive director Mark Wolfe told The Guardian that the association had heard from people whose bills had doubled and who were angry and desperate. He said some households were cutting spending on food or medicine, or turning to payday lenders, to restore power. Wolfe also said most customers eventually find a way to pay and reconnect, while electricity prices have been rising faster than overall inflation.

The Guardian’s interviews described the pressure of keeping a home cool while managing other expenses. Carol Norman, 70, of Tom Bean, Texas, said her utility bills had reached about $600 a month, largely because of air conditioning. She told the newspaper she now runs it in bursts in one room. Her account illustrates the strain of a high bill; it is not evidence that her household was among the reported disconnections.

Nina Johnson of Austin, Texas, told The Guardian that electricity bills above $200 take a substantial share of her $550 monthly income. She said she had cut back on food and outings with friends. In Biddeford, Maine, Erin Hutchins said she pays more than $100 a month for electricity on a fixed income, while her air conditioning does not adequately cool her older building. These are the residents’ accounts of their costs and circumstances.

NEADA estimates that about one in six US households are behind on energy bills, according to The Guardian. That estimate describes households potentially at risk of disconnection, rather than households whose service has already been shut off. It also has a different scope from the 10-state July count. Keeping those measures separate matters when assessing how widely the reported increase may be felt.

Protections and the months ahead

Rules governing shutoffs during extreme heat vary by state. The Guardian reported that 23 states and Washington, DC have protections triggered when temperatures pass specified thresholds. The existence of a rule does not mean every customer is covered in every circumstance, and the reported count alone cannot describe the protection available to a particular household.

Federal energy assistance is another part of the response. The Guardian reported that the Trump administration had proposed ending the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, but Congress had not agreed to eliminate it. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told the newspaper that lowering electricity prices was a priority and said the administration was expanding coal and natural gas production to address what it called a grid crisis. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego criticized the administration’s approach to energy aid and affordability.

NEADA is now watching winter heating costs. According to The Guardian, the group estimates that households heated by oil could face bills 50% higher than last year. Wolfe said he had asked Congress for an additional $3 billion for the assistance program. That forecast concerns a different season and fuel; it does not predict how many households will be disconnected this winter.

The unresolved question about July is the reach of the reported increase. The Guardian’s 173,598 figure and 28% comparison describe the states in NEADA’s compilation. Without the underlying state and utility records, their coverage and calculation cannot be checked independently here. The figures show a substantial reported rise within that group during record heat, while leaving the nationwide July 2026 total unknown.