Bill Text: DE HCR11 | 2025-2026 | 153rd General Assembly | Draft
Bill Title: Recognizing The Month Of February As Energy Poverty Awareness Month.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-1)
Status: (Engrossed) 2025-01-30 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 2 VACANT [HCR11 Detail]
Download: Delaware-2025-HCR11-Draft.html
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SPONSOR: |
Rep. K. Johnson & Sen. Hansen |
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Reps. Osienski, Bolden, Griffith, Lambert, Morrison, Neal, Romer, Burns, Ortega, Ross Levin; Sens. Sokola, Hoffner, Huxtable, Wilson |
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 11
RECOGNIZING THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY AS ENERGY POVERTY AWARENESS MONTH.
WHEREAS, Energy Poverty is the economic, structural, and environmental lack of access to adequate, affordable, reliable, efficient, quality, and safe essential energy services; and
WHEREAS, essential energy services provide basic levels and decent standards of living and health, including adequate heating, sanitation, water, cooling, lighting, and energy to power appliances and conduct digital communication and education, which are crucial for human well-being and social participation; and
WHEREAS, Energy Poverty is caused by a combination of factors, including non-affordability, insufficient disposable income, high energy expenditures, and poor energy efficiency of homes; and
WHEREAS, challenges persist in measuring Energy Poverty due to diverse contexts and the multidimensional nature of the concept , therefore, requiring the use of several different approaches in tandem because the different measures may identify distinct groups of individuals experiencing Energy Poverty; and
WHEREAS, assessing the level of Energy Poverty requires expenditure-based, consensual-based, and consumption-based measures that should be viewed and used in combination; and
WHEREAS, assessments are encouraged to include evaluations of Energy Burden, Hidden Energy Poverty, Inability to Keep Adequately Warm and Cool, and Arrears on Energy Bills; and
WHEREAS, Energy Burden is an expenditure-based approach defined as the ratio between annual household income and the amount of yearly energy bills, which seeks to capture where energy expenses take up a disproportionate share of the household budget; and
WHEREAS, Hidden Energy Poverty is a direct measurement or consumption-based approach defined as low absolute energy consumption and seeks to capture under-consumption of energy or abnormally low energy consumption that potentially fails to meet basic needs ; and
WHEREAS, Inability to Keep Adequately Warm and Cool is a consensual-based approach defined as a self-reported assessment of indoor housing conditions or thermal comfort and seeks to capture the feeling of material deprivation that may vary with age groups or social and cultural expectations; and
WHEREAS, Arrears on Energy Bills is a consensual-based approach defined as unpaid or overdue energy bills resulting in a debt to the energy company and seeks to capture financial struggles to pay energy bills on time and a risk of becoming disconnected; and
WHEREAS, almost one-third of U.S. households have reported difficulty in paying energy bills or adequately heating and cooling their homes; and
WHEREAS, the energy consumption patterns of low-income households depend on the gender, age, race, education, occupation, and geography of their members; and
WHEREAS, low-income households spend a higher percent of their income on electricity and gas bills than any other income group, specifically, low-income, minority, and rural households; and
WHEREAS, a high energy burden can have far-reaching and enduring consequences that may lead to risk of displacement, evictions, social exclusion, and lack of critical resources for living with dignity; and
WHEREAS, low energy consumption can lead to adverse health effects on physical and mental well-being; and
WHEREAS, access to affordable heating, hot water, cooling, lighting, and reliable energy is essential for meeting basic human needs, improving living standards, fostering sustainable and equitable communities; and
WHEREAS, since the 1970s and 1980s, when the U.S. Congress authorized the creation of the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the nation's largest low-income energy programs, the nature of household energy consumption and expenditure have evolved; and
WHEREAS, electrification is the process of converting an energy-consuming device, system, or sector from non-electric sources of energy to electricity from household objects to transportation systems; and
WHEREAS, while electrification has environmental, economic, and societal benefits, we must recognize the potential burden experienced by those experiencing energy poverty through the early stages of electrification, and
WHEREAS, Delaware must recognize that the commitment and cooperation of private, public, and nonprofit sectors are needed to increase awareness and assistance for energy-burdened households; and
WHEREAS, the House of Representatives fully supports the goals and ideals of Energy Poverty Awareness Month and reaffirms the importance of supporting those who are energy-poor due to the consequential effect on an individual's mental and physical health as well as recognizing the unproportionate burden carried by our minority communities.
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 153rd General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the Senate concurring therein, that February 2025 shall be known as Energy Poverty Awareness Month in Delaware, encouraging state agencies and community organizations to spread awareness, share evidence-based prevention programming and resources, and engage in outreach programs to assist our energy burdened communities.
SYNOPSIS
This House Concurrent Resolution designates February 2025 as Energy Poverty Awareness Month in the State of Delaware.
