Electricity Burdens on Hawai’i Households

Household electricity burden – the percentage of household income spent on electricity bills – is one of the key elements contributing to a household’s energy insecurity. The reports below provide snapshots of the electricity burdens Hawai’i households face. Using the U. S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) tool, we examine average monthly electricity costs and average household electricity burdens across all households and among subgroups to identify those that spend disproportionally more of their income on electricity bills. The analysis is across households with varying house tenure, building structure, and income level in the state of Hawai’i, at county and the census tract levels.

An interactive mapping tool, provided by the Hawai‘i State Office of Planning and Sustainable Development Statewide Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Program, allows the user to visualize electricity burdens at the census tract level. The user may use the swipe tool to see how electricity burdens have changed between the prior report (2018 data) and the most recent report (2022 data).  If you do not see the swipe tool, you may need to view the map in a larger window.