The 48 percent of American households with annual pre-tax incomes of $50,000 or less devote an average of 17 percent of their take-home income to energy expenses, according to a report issued Wednesday by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. “American consumers have benefitted in recent months from lower gasoline prices, but rising oil prices are now reducing consumer savings at the gas pump. Meanwhile, residential electricity prices are rising due to the costs of compliance with U.S. EPA and other regulations, and other factors such as fuel and capital costs,” the report says.
It goes without saying that families with lower incomes will spend a larger percentage of their income on energy while families with greater income spend a lower percentage. “The average U.S. family will spend an estimated $5,037 on residential and transportation energy in 2016, or 9 [percent] of the after-tax family budget. The 36 million U.S. households earning less than $30,000 before taxes, representing 29 [percent] of households, will allocate, on average, an estimated 23 [percent] of their after-tax incomes to energy,” according to the report.
