Energy insecurity is a growing public health threat among low-income populations in the United States. Prior research has shown that energy insecurity is associated with adverse health effects and can lead people to engage in risky coping strategies. Here we evaluate rates of energy insecurity, which factors contribute to it, and how the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem. We show that energy insecurity is highly prevalent among households at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. We further show that Black and Hispanic households are more likely to experience energy insecurity and face utility disconnection, as are households with young children, individuals that require electronic medical devices and those in dwellings with inefficient or poor conditions. These conditions exist under normal circumstances, and the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have exacerbated the overall incidence of energy insecurity.

能源不安全是美国低收入人群中日益严重的公共卫生威胁。先前的研究表明，能源不安全与不利的健康影响有关，并可能导致人们采取危险的应对策略。在这里，我们评估了能源不安全率、哪些因素导致了这种情况，以及 COVID-19 大流行的最初几个月如何加剧了这个问题。我们表明，能源不安全在联邦贫困线 200% 或以下的家庭中非常普遍。我们进一步表明，黑人和西班牙裔家庭更有可能经历能源不安全并面临公用事业中断，有小孩的家庭、需要电子医疗设备的个人以及居住在效率低下或条件恶劣的住宅中的家庭也是如此。这些条件在正常情况下存在，