Keeping the Lights on: Exploring The Price of Energy Burden and Inequality in Richmond
A city-level exploration of residents most impacted by high energy costs exacerbated by historical cumulative inequities in Richmond, and potential solutions.
This blog is adapted from C3’s press statement released 9/11/25
At the forefront of increasing energy demands and rising energy costs, supported by The City of Richmond’s Office of Sustainability Neighborhood Climate Resilience Grant Program, The Community Climate Collaborative (C3), released a new report, “Lessening the Load: Energy Burden and Unaffordability in Richmond, VA,” analyzing energy burden within communities across the City of Richmond. This report builds upon lessons learned in C3’s Charlottesville Uncovering Energy Inequity report, exploring Richmond’s unique challenges as a locality with deep inequalities related to energy and housing affordability.
Maria Düster, C3 Climate Justice Policy Manager, who led the study explains, "Energy affordability and security remain out of reach for many Richmonders. C3’s research found that over 28,000 households across the City struggle to keep up with their energy bills each month, a burden that falls heaviest on low-income and Black families.” As the broader cost-of-living crisis is urgently growing for many Virginians, this report “highlights that these disparities do not occur randomly but are often symptomatic of historical policies that produce inequalities across groups and areas. We hope that the findings and recommendations in this report inspire meaningful action from the City that lowers household energy costs, increases access to clean energy, and invests in safe and affordable housing for everyone in our community."
“The City of Richmond’s Office of Sustainability was especially excited to support C3’s work as one of the inaugural grantees of the Neighborhood Climate Resilience Grant Program, which supports the implementation of equity-centered, neighborhood-based planning and climate resilience projects as outlined in the RVAgreen Climate Equity Action Plan,” says Dawn Oleksy, Energy Program Manager at the Richmond Office of Sustainability
As Richmond continues its effort to develop energy and energy cost solutions, Dawn believes, “this study will go a long way toward laying the groundwork for successful data-centered strategy implementation as we continue to develop programs to reduce Richmond’s energy burden targeted at our communities already living on the frontlines of climate change.”
C3 will share more details and key findings from the Richmond report tonight at C3’s Beyond the Burden Report Release and Exhibit. To take a deeper dive into the new Albemarle and Richmond Energy Burden Studies, the public is invited to join C3 at their upcoming webinar on September 24, 2025.
###
About Community Climate Collaborative
The Community Climate Collaborative aims to bring communities together to lead on climate by working closely with schools, businesses, residents, and local governments to implement carbon emissions reductions, develop climate action plans, and enact equitable policies that accelerate climate action. Visit theclimatecollaborative.org.
