The polar vortex may soon split. What does that mean for temporary workers in the US?
The eastern United States is expected to experience several rounds of severe cold weather into early March after stratospheric warming disrupts the polar vortex.
When Tracy Klossner opened her utility bill this month, she immediately went to the thermostat and turned the temperature down a few degrees.
Klossner, who lives in the Rochester, New York, area, is no stranger to harsh winters. But the past few days of frigid temperatures, which have barely broken 20 degrees and dipped below zero, have lasted longer than Klossner, 54, is accustomed to. It showed up on her bill for the month ending Feb. 2, when her 2,600-square-foot single-family home cost more than $720.
“I was completely speechless,” said Klossner, a purchasing manager for a small manufacturing company.
As millions of Americans reel from what forecasters say is the coldest arctic air of the winter, they are now experiencing sticker shock of high utility bills as heating systems are turned on almost nonstop to fight the freeze, but experts say the causes of these high energy bills are often more complex than just the cold.
Multiple arctic air currents have spread across much of the eastern half of the country in recent weeks. Over the weekend of January 24th, a severe and deadly winter storm brought snow, ice, and cold to the Midwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast. The weekend of February 7th saw the arrival of the coldest winter on record, with temperatures in the Northeast dropping into the single digits or below zero, with extreme wind gusts bringing temperatures down to -30 degrees Celsius.
According to AccuWeather’s report, the long period of subzero temperatures caused snow to remain unmelted for a long time, reflecting sunlight and reducing natural warming, resulting in cooler temperatures and increased energy demand.
“Furnaces and heat pumps are running almost non-stop to keep homes, apartments and businesses warm during this bitterly cold weather,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. “This unrelenting cold weather has exacerbated the affordability challenges that many have struggled with this winter.”
Frigid temperatures increase demand for heating systems
According to an AccuWeather analysis, average heating demand in regions dealing with the Arctic blast is estimated to be 115% to 150% higher than normal. Heating costs vary widely depending on the type of heat source used and location. According to AccuWeather, electricity is the most expensive source of heating this winter.
Porter said more than half of Americans are likely to see higher utility bills due to the arctic cold.
About 30% to 40% of New England homes rely on household heating oil, which requires filling a tank with water that lasts for a while. AccuWeather reports that the sticker shock may not be as great for these homes as they would have been filled before the season started.
Porter said electric heating costs are expected to be several hundred dollars higher than normal for some households during the cold snap, which lasted about 25 days.
“America has not experienced a winter with so many dangerous impacts and costly disruptions since 2021,” Porter said.
Klossner uses a combination of electricity and gas to heat his home, with a furnace that runs on electricity and a water tank and stove that run on natural gas. Her $724.28 bill this month, both from the same utility company, is about $100 more than her bill for the same period last year. That’s more than $300 more than your 2023 bill.
Klossner said she usually sets her thermostat at 71 degrees, but after looking at this month’s bill, she’s trying 68 degrees instead.
“There’s nothing in my budget that’s worth a $750 electric bill,” Klossner said, adding that she doesn’t know how low-income households can afford such a bill.
Utility charges were already on the rise
Americans in many parts of the country are already anticipating higher utility bills and the extreme cold has taken hold, policy and advocacy groups said. Household utility costs jumped 41% between 2020 and 2025, according to a September analysis by JD Power based on electricity, gas and water prices from the second quarter of each year.
Home heating costs are expected to jump about 9.2% this winter, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, a policy group. Electric heating costs are expected to rise 12.2% and natural gas costs 8.4%, the group said.
“Households are expected to spend an average of $995 on heating this winter, an increase of $84 from last year,” according to a NEADA report released in January.
The report said the increase in costs is due to a combination of factors, including higher financing costs for power plants due to higher interest rates, higher natural gas costs, increased partial power demand from data centers, aging infrastructure, and fewer federal incentives for renewable energy.
Power and gas utilities are demanding nearly $31 billion in rate increases in 2025, more than double the amount they requested in 2024, according to an analysis by the group PowerLines.
Klossner said her bills have steadily increased in recent years. She is perplexed by the price increases, but feels she has little recourse as a homeowner unable to control rising costs and dependent on utility bills.
“I’m left with two things: helplessness and anger,” she says.
Contributor: Daniel de Visé, USA TODAY
