U.S. households that faced challenges in paying for their basic energy needs were billed about 19% more per square foot than the national average in 2020, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday.

On average, households were billed $1.04 per square foot for energy usage in 2020, the EIA said in a Residential Energy Consumption Survey.

However, households experiencing "energy insecurity" were billed $0.20 more per square foot compared to the national average, and $0.26 more on average than households without energy insecurity.

Energy insecurity is determined by factors such as receiving disconnection notices, sacrificing basic necessities to pay energy bills, maintaining unsafe temperatures due to cost concerns, or being unable to afford heating or cooling equipment repairs, according to the EIA.

The 2020 survey collated data from 18,496 households, the largest sample in the report's history. It gave no reason as to why the energy insecure were billed more.

According to the survey, households with income of less than $10,000 a year were billed more per square foot than households making $100,000 or higher.

Respondents living in rented homes were also billed more across all energy sources than respondents living in homes they owned.

(Reporting by Arshreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sharon Singleton)