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Utility costs have surged across the nation this year, leaving millions of Americans falling behind on their monthly bills. It might get more challenging as households nationwide can expect to pay higher utility costs for decades to come due to storm recovery bond charges.
Natural disasters have ravaged the United States in recent years, from hurricanes to winter freezes. These weather events have destroyed infrastructure and cost electric and gas utility firms billions of dollars in repairs and maintenance.
The numbers confirm that more companies have taken on recovery bonds this year, although there is a discrepancy in the total figures. In the first nine months of 2022, Bloomberg data show that businesses have issued a record $17 billion in recovery bonds, with estimates suggesting it could top $20 billion by the end of the year. According to data from advisory firm Saber Partners cited by the Wall Street Journal, roughly $12.4 billion in weather-related utilities debt was issued in the past year compared to nearly $7 billion in long-term recovery bonds that states and utilities issued from 2007 to 2021....