‘Everything goes up except income’: Older women are struggling to keep up with rising electricity costs

Jessica Kutz

Gender, climate and sustainability reporter

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Molly Mandel is on a budget. Like many others her age, the 77-year-old retiree depends on her Social Security check and a small monthly pension to cover her expenses. She only buys food that’s on sale at the grocery store. She thrifts her clothes because the prices at department stores are too high these days. “You go into Penney’s, and you look at a blouse, and it’s 24.99!” she said.

But despite all her penny-pinching, her spending is still more than she sees in her monthly checks. “I’m economizing in as many places as I can, but the inflation of almost everything I use is outpacing my income,” she said.

Now her electricity provider, Arizona Public Service, is proposing to r