Heating bills in American homes are skyrocketing this winter. According to the Energy Assistance Directors Association of America (NEADA), heating costs across the country have continued to rise 18% since peaking at 17% last year.
Charmaine Johnson is a hotline operator for Heater Hotline in Philadelphia, a nonprofit that helps low-income families with heating and billing costs. She empathizes with the fear mentioned daily by people. She herself is also struggling to cover the heating costs as the costs are rising as she is going through a similar situation.
With the help of his son, Johnson had to pay just over $1,000 to partially fill the tank. She hopes the fuel will be enough for most of the winter.
Photo: Daily record
Ineligible for the U.S. government subsidy, Johnson had to economize and lower the temperature in his home to extend the life of the heating oil. Inflation also pushed up her food budget and other expenses.
“It’s miserable. It’s like living in an igloo,” she said.
However, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), in the US electricity sector, factors such as the conflict in Ukraine, OPEC+ oil production cuts, increased energy exports, low energy supplies and demand for natural gas, are driving electricity prices, especially heating costs for people, are increasing.
EIA projects estimate that the cost of heating a home with gas will increase by 25% this winter and the cost of heating with electricity by 11%. In particular, the sharpest increase will be the cost of specialized oil heating, which is expected to be 45% more expensive than last winter. This could put pressure on the 5 million households mostly located in the northeastern United States.
Tim Wiseley—a resident of a Philadelphia suburb—keeps the temperature in his home at “freezing.” He wants to keep the heating oil on as long as possible, as it can cost $1,500 to refill the tank.
The 67-year-old retired and lost his wife last year. He now lives on monthly Social Security benefits and faces a long list of expenses.
Wiseley insists he turn on the heating when he can’t stand the cold anymore. However, he thinks that the heating oil will run out at some point in the winter.
Later this year, the Biden administration decided to allocate $4.5 billion in federal aid to help families pay their heating bills. Funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP, comes from regular congressional appropriations and a number of other funding sources.
Annette Thomas (age 53) and her husband received USD 500 from this program. The money will allow them to heat their home on the outskirts of Philadelphia, but not enough to fill a third of a barrel of oil. Mrs. Thomas believes that the current amount of fuel can only last 2-3 weeks.
“That is why we are delaying switching on the heating for a while. We will limit the temperature rise even when it is cold,” she said.
Her family will also try to pay the electricity bill in the coming days to prevent a power outage. It doesn’t stop there, other bills and expenses are also increasing. To be as economical as possible, the couple uses personal heaters and electric blankets to keep warm, hoping to save on heating oil when the kids get home for Thanksgiving.
“This is clearly not a luxury, but a necessity. Now we have to fight to live and this is unthinkable,” said Ms Thomas.
Reference: CNN
