PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) – Several banks in the state are offering “energy loans” to help people with their home heating bills.

Sharon Brody, fuel-assistance manager for Rockingham Community Action, says it’s a sign of the times. It’s not even midwinter, but already she’s fielding phone calls from people who have exhausted their emergency home heating aid.

“They’re starting to panic,” Brody said. “Winter is not over; the little groundhog has not even come out yet. We’ve got a long way to go.”

Contributing to the problem is a new formula for distributing $100 million in emergency funding for the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. More money went to warm-weather states than in past years.

As a result, northern states got less. New Hampshire got $16.4 million this year compared to $18.3 million last winter, according to state officials – even though fuel costs are much higher.

Banks and credit unions are filling the gap with short-term, low-interest loans. Some gas and electric utilities also are offering credit extensions and deferred payment plans.

In Maine, a number of credit unions are offering low-interest “energy loans” that can be used to pay for fuel, buy a wood stove or take measures to make a home more energy-efficient, such as adding insulation.

Service Credit Union, which has eight branches in New Hampshire, offers special emergency loans to low- or moderate-income applicants who need help paying for heat.

The loans are usually for $1,000 or less at a fixed interest rate of 9.9 percent for a year, said Fawn Terwilliger, vice president of lending. The credit union has made about 100 such loans totaling $50,000 so far, she said.

Citizens Bank recently announced new loans to help low- and moderate-income homeowners make their homes more energy-efficient. Approved borrowers can take out loans of $1,000 to $3,000 at a 1 percent annual interest rate for up to 84 months, or loans of up to $10,000 for 3 percent.

“By making these below-market-rate loans available, we hope to make it feasible for homeowners who want to add insulation, upgrade furnaces or home-heating systems, install storm windows and doors and more,” said Cathleen Schmidt, president and chief executive of Citizens Bank New Hampshire.

In December, the average price for No. 2 heating oil was $2.60 per gallon, according to the state Office of Energy and Planning. The prices of kerosene and propane were $2.82 and $2.27 per gallon.

Households earning less than 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines – $35,785 for a family of four, for example – can qualify for the federal assistance, which is distributed through the nonprofit community action agencies.

Celeste Lovett, fuel assistance program manager for the state, said there has been an 11 percent increase in applicants this year compared to last year: By mid-January, 30,910 households had sought aid.

The Office of Energy and Planning, at the request of Democratic Gov. John Lynch, is looking into the possibility of obtaining discounted or donated oil from Citgo, which is owned by Venezuela’s national oil company.

Maine received a donation of about $5.5 million from Citgo and Vermont is expected to announce a donation this week, while Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York City are buying heating oil from Citgo at a 40 percent discount.

U.S. Sen. John Sununu, a Republican, told the New Hampshire Sunday News that Venezuela’s controversial president, Hugo Chavez, is taking advantage of the spike in heating oil costs to “grandstand on the world stage” and the state should not have anything to do with him.

Lynch spokeswoman Pamela Walsh said Monday no decision has been made about whether to solicit help from Citgo, which is already a major supplier to the state and the region, but that Lynch asked the energy office to look into it “given Washington’s failure to adequately fund LIHEAP.”

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On the Net:

State Office of Energy and Planning: www.staywarmnh.org

AP-ES-01-30-06 1250EST

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