Heating costs are expected to increase by 17%, mainly impacting lower-income families, according to a new report from National Energy Assistance Directors Association. In fact, home energy prices have gone up more than 35% since 2020, according to the report. That is some stark news when 20 million households—one out of six U.S. homes—are already behind on their utility bills.

When energy costs go up, it doesn’t just hurt our pocketbooks. It can cost people their health, their well-being and even their lives. Nearly 20% of U.S. households reported that they kept their home at a temperature that felt unsafe or unhealthy for at least one month in the last year. In fact, studies have shown that when natural gas prices remain low, 11,000 winter deaths per year are averted.

That is why it is so important to have leaders that implement domestic energy policies that will bring costs down and provide us safe and reliable energy sources when we need them the most. As a recent report from the American Legislative Exchange Council put it, “When the government inserts itself into the energy markets, taxpayers foot the bill. Inefficient government mandates driven by political interests often pick winners and losers in individual energy markets, causing, at best, skyrocketing costs through poor investment decisions.”

Winter is coming and the time for “green-at-all-costs” politics is over. Your individual votes count – use it to vote for candidates that support domestic energy affordability. Please, check out TEA for information about leaders who support affordable, clean and abundant American energy.