People should have been able to adapt to the need to use less heating energy. 1. Wear warmer clothing. 2. Very substantially cut down on the portion of the house you live in and consequently need to heat...
I remember my grandfather in his 80-90s not using the air-conditioning during heatwaves to save money. The price of power wouldn't have been a serious factor in his mind, just that it cost anything at all.
I assume decades of frugal behaviour makes for extreme conditioning that is hard to undo.
See? Being a twat is easy. Actually having a bit of compassion is the hard part.
Some people do consider this a sub-optimal outcome.