Thirty-seven percent of Americans who speak Spanish at least half of the time at home have struggled to pay their electric bills over the last year, according to the latest survey from the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC), a nonprofit organization that studies Americans’ energy-related behaviors, interests and values. Among the U.S. general population, one quarter of consumers say they have struggled to pay their electric bills.

The “Don't Leave Us in the Dark: Engaging Spanish-Speaking Households” survey – the latest installment in SECC’s Smart Energy Snapshot Series – was fielded to a nationally representative sample of 501 consumers who regularly speak Spanish at home. The findings were compared to previous studies of the U.S. general population, such as “Customer Satisfaction and the Smart Grid”, “Renewables: Engaging Consumers in the Clean Energy Transition” and others.

Despite their disproportionate struggle to pay their electric bills, the new Snapshot Survey found that Spanish speakers are more aware of programs and offers from their electricity providers and are more supportive of clean energy initiatives from their providers and the government:

• Twenty-seven percent are familiar with specific renewable energy goals from government or electricity providers (16 percent of the general population).
• Ninety-four percent believe that clean energy goals should be either a medium or high priority for their electricity providers (80 percent of the general population).
• Twenty-eight percent are aware of programs from their electricity providers to manage their home’s energy usage (19 percent of the general population).

However, there are still opportunities to improve communication with these consumers. About a quarter of Spanish speakers (23 percent) have never seen any marketing materials or received any form of outreach in Spanish from their electricity providers. Thirty-six percent say that they receive “a lot” of Spanish-language materials, while the remaining 41 percent have received “some”.

“With about 45 million Americans now speaking Spanish at home, this is an increasingly important demographic for electricity providers,” said SECC’s President & CEO Nathan Shannon. “These consumers are very supportive of grid modernization initiatives and the transition to renewables and are more trusting of their providers than the general population. With effective outreach, either in Spanish or bilingual depending on the context, many of these consumers will be satisfied and engaged customers in the years ahead.”

An infographic highlighting key figures from the “Don’t Leave Us in the Dark: Engaging Spanish-Speaking Households” survey can be viewed here, and a slide deck with the full survey findings is available exclusively for SECC’s membership here. In addition, we will be hosting a webinar on Thursday, October 31 at 1 p.m. (ET) on the key findings of the survey with guest speakers from NTC Corporate and the Citizens Utility Board (CUB).