Burlington Free Press, July 1, 2008: Editorial: Rising heating costs spell looming disaster
In Vermont, it’s never too early to start thinking about how you’re going to heat your home during the coming winter. The question takes on a renewed urgency this year because heating oil prices are already running 60 percent above what they were a year ago with no relief in sight.
The first order of business is to make sure that families can afford to keep warm this winter. With signs that our economy is mired in a slowdown and the state reporting its highest unemployment rate in 14 years, the number of families needing heating assistance is likely to be greater this year. It is encouraging to see elected representatives in Montpelier and Washington already at work to address this looming problem.
Eight Northeast governors, including Gov. Jim Douglas, are urging the U.S. House to increase funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, better known as LIHEAP, to $5.1 billion for the coming heating season. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., reports that the Senate is seeking an additional $500 million for the program above what is in the Bush administration budget.
The requested increase in LIHEAP funding barely keeps up, if at all, with the rise in fuel oil prices which often hits its peak from late summer in the fall. Vermont faces a $19 million shortfall in the programs funding.
LIHEAP helps pay the heating bill for households with incomes of up to 125 percent of the poverty level. Under the program, 21,680 Vermont households received a total of about $21 million last season. That same level of energy aid would cost more than $33 million at today’s fuel oil prices.
Among the ideas before the lawmakers and administration officials are to coordinate bulk purchase of fuel on a regional basis and to pass along the saving to consumers; helping small fuel dealers with credit to buy fuel for the coming season, and creating an “energy bank” that would operate in a similar way to food banks to help those in need.
The constraint, as always, is money. With state revenues already on the decline and the budget tight, there is little additional money to be invested in helping people heat their homes this winter. Vermont’s congressional delegation is pushing for more federal aid, but increases in LIHEAP funding has met with resistance from the White House.
Rising prices for necessities such as food and fuel, and a sluggish economy are already combining to put more and more strain on household budgets, some to the breaking point. Their effect can be seen in the increased number of people who make use of food shelves and homeless shelters.
Vermont is by no means alone in facing this potential crisis. According to a nationwide Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Monday, nine out of 10 people expect to be affected by rising fuel prices over the next six months. With the onset of the heating season, the situation can only get worse. It is clearly time to act to head off the looming disaster.