Deep freeze drives heating demand sky-high as utility rate hikes squeeze millions
Prolonged winter cold is colliding with rising electric and gas rates, pushing heating bills significantly above average for tens of millions of Americans.
With more Arctic air on the horizon for much of the Midwest and Northeast this weekend, concerns increase around the growing energy demand and the high heating costs throughout the winter.
An extended period of winter cold is exacerbating already surging heating costs across the United States, following nearly $31 billion in electric and gas rate increases requested by utilities last year — roughly double the total requested in 2024.
Those rate increases could affect 81 million Americans, according to a new report from Powerlines, a nonprofit organization. Electricity prices have been climbing for years, rising nearly 40% since 2021, while piped natural gas prices increased by 11% last year, the report found.
According to the Powerlines report, electric and gas prices are now among the fastest-growing contributors to inflation.
While electricity and natural gas prices have been rising over the long term, demand has surged this winter due to intense and long-duration cold. A new AccuWeather analysis shows heating demand running 115% to 150% of historical averages across parts of the eastern and central U.S. affected by persistent cold and winter storms from Jan. 15 through Feb. 8.
A Nashville Electric Service lineman works to repair damaged power lines days after a severe winter storm, Jan. 30, 2026. (Photo by Matt Masters/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“More than half of all Americans are likely to see elevated heating costs tied to this deep freeze. Furnaces and heat pumps have been running nearly nonstop to keep homes, apartments and businesses warm amid this bitter cold,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. “Some people are dealing with sticker shock from heating bills that are significantly higher compared to this time last winter."
Meanwhile, the Powerlines report notes that many Americans have not yet felt the full impact of rate increases requested by utilities for 2025.
Nearly 33 million people in the South are expected to see some effect from higher utility rates, more than any other region in the country.
“Storm recovery from recent hurricanes drove increases across the region along with rising capital expenditures for new infrastructure,” according to Powerlines.
Florida Power & Light requested a historic $9 billion rate increase last year, contributing to some of the largest utility bill impacts in the southern U.S.
“In 2025, rising utility bills became a defining national issue—first an energy story, then an economic one, and now a political one. Electricity is the new eggs,” Founder and Executive Director of PowerLines Charles Hua said. “As these costs keep climbing, policymakers of all political stripes will face growing pressure to take action and advance solutions to improve our grid and lower utility bills for American consumers and businesses.”
The Powerlines report also found that three out of four Americans are concerned about rising utility bills. Nearly 28 million Americans, or one in five households, pay more than 6% of their income on energy bills, surpassing the energy poverty threshold defined by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Relief may be slow to arrive, both from the cold and from higher monthly costs, as another surge of frigid air is forecast to bring below-freezing temperatures back to the Northeast.
AccuWeather’s analysis found that customers across 30 states in the eastern half of the country could see heating costs run significantly above historical averages through mid-February.
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