More than 322,000 Connecticut residents cannot afford to pay their energy bills.
That’s according to a report released Tuesday by the nonprofit energy assistance program, Operation Fuel.
According to the report, each of those households owe $1,241 more than they can afford on their energy bills.
Karen Adamson, executive director at Operation Fuel, says the average household actually owes about 17 percent less than they did last year.
“This decrease is the result of lower energy costs in the past year, particularly in heating oil. However, history has showed us that energy costs can be variable on a number of factors including oil.”
Operation Fuel relies on state and federal funding, as well as private donations, to subsidize the cost of energy for low-income households. It has given more than $3 million to affected households in Connecticut this year.
The organization considers an energy bill to be unaffordable if it exceeds 6 percent of a household’s income.
