As a record-breaking summer of heat subsides across the United States, many households are confronting soaring electricity bills that place basic cooling out of reach. In McAlester, Oklahoma, Genia Weitz, 58, received a disconnection notice last month warning that her outstanding electric balance of $1,340.96 must be paid within nine days. With temperatures easing just below a state-mandated protection threshold, the threat of losing power loomed at a time when air conditioning was critical to her health.
Weitz and her husband, Daryl Mason, have been restricting themselves to just one air-conditioned room in their three-bedroom home to manage costs amid staggering bills. Both rely on medical devices—an oxygen machine and a CPAP machine—necessitating continuous power during increasingly hot nights when the heat index remained in the mid-80s. “I can’t breathe if I don’t have my oxygen,” Weitz said, underscoring the life-or-death stakes of maintaining electricity.
The summer of 2023 marked the hottest in U.S. history, with average temperatures three degrees Fahrenheit above normal, surpassing previous records such as the 1936 Dust Bowl and the 2012 heat dome. Roughly one in six households nationwide has fallen behind on utility payments, according to federal data. Many states with typically hot climates, including Oklahoma, Arizona, and Virginia, prohibit utility disconnections on days of extreme heat, causing a surge in shut-off notices during cooler fall months.
The Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), which supplies power to McAlester and surrounding areas, reported that customer bills rose largely due to the prolonged use of air conditioning amid record heat. PSO faces increased operating costs tied to rising fuel prices, infrastructure upgrades, and the expanding demand driven by new large customers such as data centers supporting artificial intelligence. Despite these factors, PSO’s rates remain below the national average, though disconnection rates in 2024 were among the highest for investor-owned utilities, with many shut-offs occurring on prepaid accounts.
Weitz sought relief by submitting a medical exemption form, which grants a 30-day postponement of disconnection for life-threatening conditions but does not forgive accrued debt. Meanwhile, her daughter, Shenia Mick, balanced the financial strain of her own high utility bills with supporting her family in McAlester. Mick, who relocated to Tulsa and advanced from a troubled youth to a senior buyer at an engineering firm, reported monthly bills exceeding $500, despite efforts to cool her home with multiple air-conditioning units.
In another household, Autumn Cooper, 24, adopted a prepaid electricity plan to manage expenses incrementally and avoid large charges. Even so, she described the cycle of small payments and frequent disconnections as relentless. Cooper, a nursing student and mother of five, supplemented her income through odd jobs and selling used baby items online, yet struggled to keep power on amid bills that climbed steadily through the summer.
The economic pressures from escalating power demands have coincided with Oklahoma’s ambitions to attract high-energy data centers, which intensify the burden on the regional grid and contribute to rising rates for consumers. PSO is investing $1.2 billion in power generation and storage to meet growth needs, with a recent law directing large users to pay more of the associated costs.
Efforts to find community assistance have yielded limited success. Local charities can only support a fraction of those seeking help, and area churches report depleted resources despite increased requests. Residents describe an ongoing crisis of affordability amid extreme weather, with many expressing fear and frustration over mounting debt and the threat of power loss.
As cooling becomes a necessity for survival, families like Weitz’s, Mick’s, and Cooper’s exemplify the challenges faced by millions confronting the intersection of climate change, rising living costs, and infrastructure demands. With no easy solution in sight, their stories highlight the urgent need for systemic approaches to electricity affordability and access in a warming world.