When Morgan Steiner graduated from college last spring, she thought she was doing everything right.
She landed a job before graduation, found an apartment near Pittston, and carefully budgeted for life on her own. At $1,000 a month, her rent wasn’t cheap, but it was manageable. She unplugged appliances when she left the house and kept the lights off whenever possible.
Then her electric bills started climbing.
What had been a doable $55 monthly bill slowly rose to around $70, then $100. By late winter, it exploded. One month, her electric bill reached $311. The next, it jumped to more than $500.
Even with everything unplugged except a lamp and her microwave, Steiner said her electric bill is still out of control.
“That’s half my paycheck for one of my bills,” Steiner said. “I was devastated. I immediately turned off all my things and just sat there thinking, ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.’”
Steiner isn’t alone. Households across Pennsylvania are feeling the financial strain as electricity costs continue to climb. Residential electricity rates have climbed over the past year, and the Public Utility Commission confirmed another round of increases that took effect June 1. The increases have heightened affordability concerns for families already dealing with higher housing, grocery and insurance costs.
For Steiner, the timing couldn’t have been worse.
She was preparing to start graduate school overseas this fall.
“I’d have liked to feel a little bit more prepared,” Steiner said. Her aging car needed new tires and an inspection. Instead of building savings, nearly every dollar she earned during the winter went toward essential expenses. “It’s not frivolous expenses. It’s things that I need. The fact that these things that I need cost so much, it’s impacting me.”
Steiner acknowledges she’s in a relatively fortunate position. She graduated without undergraduate student loans and has a stable job. But even with those advantages, unexpected electricity costs upended her financial plans.
“I feel like I was trying to do things the right way,” Steiner said. “I graduated, I had a job lined up. I’m trying my best to do things the right way. It’s just kind of impossible.”
The bills also changed how she lived.
RELATED: Freedom Fuel gas prices approach $4 per gallon after boasting steep discounts
As outside temperatures rose, Steiner was scared to use her air conditioning, worried her electric bill would skyrocket again. She began spending more time away from her apartment, working, visiting friends or staying at her boyfriend’s house to avoid running even a fan.
“My goal is to just not be at home this summer,” Steiner said.
Although her electric bills have since returned to roughly $55 a month, the experience continues to shape her decisions. As she prepares to move abroad for graduate school, utilities have become one of the first things she looks for in an apartment listing.
“When I am looking at my next apartment, I’m looking at, ‘Is electric included?’” Steiner said. “I can’t imagine paying electric again.”
Steiner has considered taking a second job but worries she’s already stretched too thin. Nights out with friends have become harder to justify. A $40 concert ticket now feels like a luxury.
“I feel bad when I’m saying, ‘Guys, I can’t go on a vacation,’” she said. “Or when I turn down a $40 show because I just paid that bill. I can do $10 or $15, but $40 is just too much right now.”
Steiner also worries that electricity prices may continue rising.
“A couple of cents is everything,” she said. “Who knows what the future holds? There could be even more rate hikes.”
For many young Pennsylvanians, the promise that hard work leads to financial stability feels increasingly out of reach.
Steiner remembers believing she could find an affordable apartment after college. Instead, she found housing costs far higher than expected, then watched her utility bills eat up hundreds of dollars more than she had budgeted.
Her parents owned a home at her age, she said. She’s preparing to move back in with them temporarily in the months before she leaves for graduate school to avoid another month of utility bills.
“It’s really hard,” Steiner said. “I want to be reaping the benefits of my hard work, and I feel left out.”
“I love where I live. I love my friends. I love my community. But it’s expensive here.”
