Priced Out of Breath: Nevada Latino Families Struggle with Heat, Health, and High Energy Bills

By Liz Hurtado, National Field Manager at Moms Clean Air Force and EcoMadres

 

Ana and Jacky from Las Dos de Sinaloa band with Liz Hurtado at the EcoMadres Summit 2025.
Credits: Dre Vasquez @silentsolution and True Michaels @truemichaels

 For Jacky Banderas, the climate crisis is not an abstract policy debate – it’s the memory of a power shut-off that spoiled her family’s food and left them sweltering in the Nevada summer, all because she was just one dollar short on her utility bill. With high temperatures driving bills ever higher, Jacky now pays an average of $700 each month for electricity, and has even received bills of up to $1,000.

Banderas, a mother and community advocate, shared her story at the recent EcoMadres Summit in Las Vegas. Her testimony put a personal face on the “triple threat” facing Latino families: record-breaking heat, soaring energy costs, and federal budget cuts.

“I live in constant fear that one day I won’t be able to afford the bill, and my son’s health will be at risk,” she said. Her son has asthma and depends on a nebulizer – equipment that requires electricity.

Banderas’s story is also a story of resilience. Alongside her mother, Ana González, she combines music and organizing through their band, Las Dos de Sinaloa, and their nonprofit, Las Doñas Academy. The duo has testified at the legislature and organized with groups like Chispa Nevada and Make the Road Nevada, using their platform to advocate for immigrant and climate justice. At the summit, their leadership was honored with the first-ever “EcoMadres Clean Air Champion Award”. The award highlighted their leadership and the power of personal stories and grassroots action in the fight for clean air.

Doctors at the event detailed the rising health risks for children with respiratory issues, while researchers confirmed that Latino households are disproportionately bearing the costs of the crisis.

Mary Wagner, Nevada Field Organizer for EcoMadres and Moms Clean Air Force, warned that for children with health conditions, losing power during extreme heat is a “danger to their lives.”

Audrey Peral, Program Director for Chispa Nevada, added that Nevadans are organizing to demand that officials “put people over profit and reject rate hikes and fossil fuels.”

For Banderas and countless others, the fight is for a more just and resilient future. Survival depends on lawmakers rejecting proposed budget cuts and investing in clean, renewable energy. Inaction doesn’t just drain wallets – it endangers health, futures, and lives.

EcoMadres is a program of Moms Clean Air Force that mobilizes parents and caregivers to fight for healthy air and a safe future for Latino families.