More federal aid, but winter costs are rising for cold states
PORTLAND, Maine – Raymond Archer was on the verge of losing his home during the cold Maine winter last year when government assistance came to the rescue, and he’s prepared for this season to be even more difficult.
Archer, a 50-year-old construction worker who was out of work for nine months during the COVID-19 pandemic, used $1,000 in heating assistance to keep his fuel tank full last year. He said he could need the help again, along with many others with rising fuel costs and predictions of a cold winter.
“If it wasn’t for them helping me – I don’t want to sound drastic – I probably would’ve given up last year,” said Archer, who rents a home in Alfred, about 30 miles from Portland. “Only reason I still have my house is because they helped me.”
For Archer and others in need of assistance as winter bears down, the news about federal assistance and heating costs is a mixed bag. The average cost of heating a home this winter is expected to be $972, up from $888 last year but down from October projections of $1,056, said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.
The Biden administration has also more than doubled funds for the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program this season. LIHEAP, which provides money to some homeowners and renters for heating costs, typically receives $3 billion to $4 billion and serves 5 million households. The administration added another $4.5 billion to the program via the American Rescue Plan.
But as some parts of the country are expected to have colder winters than normal, it’s unclear if that will be enough. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said states such as Montana and Alaska could have especially bitter winters.
And not everyone who could benefit from LIHEAP money receives it. Some don’t even know they qualify.
“A lot of people who are eligible don’t think they are because they think it’s just for the very poor,” Wolfe said. (We) “encourage families to apply even if they think it isn’t going to be helpful.”