As home heating oil prices reach record highs, New England officials are bracing for an increase in the number of low-income residents seeking help from the federal government in paying their fuel bills.
Maine officials have joined others from the Northeast and Midwest in pressing for an additional $600 million in the $2 billion Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
Some 46,000 Maine households last year received grants ranging from $80 to a $560. The average benefit was $435, which at today’s prices is not enough to fill the standard 275-gallon tank.
“We tell homeowners that the LIHEAP program is not intended to cover their full heating season costs,” said Peter Wintle, director of energy and housing services at the Maine State Housing Authority, which administers the program in Maine. “This is meant to provide a supplement.”
This year, agencies are reporting a large number of first-time applicants, a trend that Wintle said could push the total as high as 60,000 in Maine. About 50,000 applied last year.
Because of the high number of people seeking help, agencies are scheduling appointments with applicants through January, Wintle said. The grants are sent directly to the applicant’s fuel vendor.
Fifteen percent of the approximately $23 million in LIHEAP funding available to Maine this year is earmarked for home weatherization, with the rest going toward fuel assistance.
The value of weatherization cannot be overemphasized, said Beth Nagusky, director of the state Office of Energy Independence and Security. Additional insulation, weatherstripping and furnace tuneups save two dollars for every dollar invested, she said, and the higher oil prices mean that the payback period has become even shorter.
Meanwhile, oil dealers say customers who are having trouble paying their bills should notify their supplier so payment terms can be worked out.
“The message we’d like to get out is to be proactive,” said John Peters, executive vice president of Downeast Energy in Brunswick. “Just be in contact with your supplier and let him know what your situation is.”
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