Heating fuel assistance aids thousands in Central Mass.
WORCESTER - Every year, Mary Knittle said, she receives a phone call
from an elderly woman asking if fuel assistance is available or if she
should forgo her husband’s medication.
Thankfully, Ms. Knittle has been able to help, and she wants other area residents to know that help is available for them too.
“We don’t want anybody to be out there cold, or maybe hungry, because they have spent their money on heating costs,” said Ms. Knittle, the director of energy resources at the Worcester Community Action Council, the organization that oversees the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program in Worcester and 43 other area communities. “We want to make sure that the heating burden isn’t interrupting their lives.”
LIHEAP is a federally funded program that provides eligible households with help in paying a portion of their winter heating bills and utility bills. Eligibility is based on a household’s combined income as well as the number of residents.
For this winter, a single individual could be earning $34,380 and be eligible, while a household of four can earn up to $66,115, according to income guidelines. Both homeowners and renters are eligible. Those who heat with oil, gas, propane, kerosene, electricity, wood, or coal are all eligible. Recipients served by publicly held utilities also receive a discount of approximately 25 percent or more on their utility bills, Ms. Knittle said, and help with weatherization projects. The maximum benefit available to people in the lowest income bracket is $1,300 for the season. The lowest benefit for people in the highest eligible income bracket is $315.
LIHEAP has become an important safety net in New England, where fuel costs are high and winter temperatures low.
“It’s something that our customers depend on, and it’s part of being an active participant in your community, to be able to deliver fuel to those who need it,” said Kristen Peterson Halus, vice president and third-generation employee of Peterson Oil, of Worcester, on Monday. “Without it, a lot of people would have a much harder time.”
Last winter Worcester Community Action Council processed 14,048 applications for fuel assistance, including 1,971 first-time applicants. A total of 12,260 certified-eligible households obtained benefits totaling $8,476,341 through LIHEAP and distributed via 73 local vendors and utilities.
Weatherization, insulation, and heating system repairs or replacement services were provided to 826 households, totaling more than $2.4 million in local investment.
Ms. Knittle said there was enough money for all eligible applicants to receive benefits.
But fuel costs are up this year.
Fuel oil was averaging $2.77 per gallon last week, an increase of 17.7 percent from that time last year, according to the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. Propane was averaging $3 per gallon last week, an increase of 4.1 percent from the same time last year.
Natural gas costs $15.42 per thousand cubic feet this September (the most recent figures available, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration) up from $14.97, or 3 percent, in September 2016.
And the federal allocation to Massachusetts - based on a formula that takes into account factors such as changes in average temperature, fuel sources available in the state, and the number of low income individuals - is down.
The state will receive $136 million (90 percent of which had been
distributed as of Nov. 1) rather than the $146.2 million total the state
received last year.
In fact, LIHEAP has been far from a certainty this year. President Donald J. Trump’s budget proposal eliminated LIHEAP, but $3.4 billion in funding was preserved when Congress passed a continuing budget resolution to fund government programs through Dec. 8.
Nevertheless, Ms. Knittle said Central Massachusetts was expecting to accommodate all who need help, and was urging people to apply.
“Anybody who looks at a heating bill and it gives them anxiety, they should look at us,” Ms. Knittle said.
Even those who are not eligible for monetary assistance can receive other benefits such as counseling on maintaining accounts, advocacy for utility bills that have gotten out of hand and help getting services restored.
So far this year - the application process began Nov. 1 - the community action council has received more than 9,000 applications, an increase of 6 percent over this time last year, Ms. Knittle said.
They will accept applications until April 30.
“We really want to have people identify with us if they could use some relief for their heating expenses,” Ms. Knittle said. “And if they need relief, which a lot of people do, we’ll walk them through it to see if there’s any way we can help.”
Thankfully, Ms. Knittle has been able to help, and she wants other area residents to know that help is available for them too.
“We don’t want anybody to be out there cold, or maybe hungry, because they have spent their money on heating costs,” said Ms. Knittle, the director of energy resources at the Worcester Community Action Council, the organization that oversees the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program in Worcester and 43 other area communities. “We want to make sure that the heating burden isn’t interrupting their lives.”
LIHEAP is a federally funded program that provides eligible households with help in paying a portion of their winter heating bills and utility bills. Eligibility is based on a household’s combined income as well as the number of residents.
For this winter, a single individual could be earning $34,380 and be eligible, while a household of four can earn up to $66,115, according to income guidelines. Both homeowners and renters are eligible. Those who heat with oil, gas, propane, kerosene, electricity, wood, or coal are all eligible. Recipients served by publicly held utilities also receive a discount of approximately 25 percent or more on their utility bills, Ms. Knittle said, and help with weatherization projects. The maximum benefit available to people in the lowest income bracket is $1,300 for the season. The lowest benefit for people in the highest eligible income bracket is $315.
LIHEAP has become an important safety net in New England, where fuel costs are high and winter temperatures low.
“It’s something that our customers depend on, and it’s part of being an active participant in your community, to be able to deliver fuel to those who need it,” said Kristen Peterson Halus, vice president and third-generation employee of Peterson Oil, of Worcester, on Monday. “Without it, a lot of people would have a much harder time.”
Last winter Worcester Community Action Council processed 14,048 applications for fuel assistance, including 1,971 first-time applicants. A total of 12,260 certified-eligible households obtained benefits totaling $8,476,341 through LIHEAP and distributed via 73 local vendors and utilities.
Weatherization, insulation, and heating system repairs or replacement services were provided to 826 households, totaling more than $2.4 million in local investment.
Ms. Knittle said there was enough money for all eligible applicants to receive benefits.
But fuel costs are up this year.
Fuel oil was averaging $2.77 per gallon last week, an increase of 17.7 percent from that time last year, according to the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. Propane was averaging $3 per gallon last week, an increase of 4.1 percent from the same time last year.
Natural gas costs $15.42 per thousand cubic feet this September (the most recent figures available, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration) up from $14.97, or 3 percent, in September 2016.
And the federal allocation to Massachusetts - based on a formula that takes into account factors such as changes in average temperature, fuel sources available in the state, and the number of low income individuals - is down.
In fact, LIHEAP has been far from a certainty this year. President Donald J. Trump’s budget proposal eliminated LIHEAP, but $3.4 billion in funding was preserved when Congress passed a continuing budget resolution to fund government programs through Dec. 8.
Nevertheless, Ms. Knittle said Central Massachusetts was expecting to accommodate all who need help, and was urging people to apply.
“Anybody who looks at a heating bill and it gives them anxiety, they should look at us,” Ms. Knittle said.
Even those who are not eligible for monetary assistance can receive other benefits such as counseling on maintaining accounts, advocacy for utility bills that have gotten out of hand and help getting services restored.
So far this year - the application process began Nov. 1 - the community action council has received more than 9,000 applications, an increase of 6 percent over this time last year, Ms. Knittle said.
They will accept applications until April 30.
“We really want to have people identify with us if they could use some relief for their heating expenses,” Ms. Knittle said. “And if they need relief, which a lot of people do, we’ll walk them through it to see if there’s any way we can help.”
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