As colder weather sets in, home heating costs will pose a greater challenge for some Connecticut families.
Winter heating prices are expected to remain high this year and more Connecticut residents have applied to the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) as well, following a nationwide trend.
This year, the number of Connecticut residents applying for LIHEAP aid is expected to increase 20% over last year, according to Claire Coleman, Consumer Counsel and chair of Connecticut’s Low Income Energy Advisory Board.
“That presents a huge challenge with the level of funding on the baseline LIHEAP allocation,” Coleman said.
Oil fuel prices increased last week to $100 a barrel, Coleman said. Last winter, a barrel of oil cost about $70 to $80.
“This is home heating, heating, oil, electricity, food, housing, households just simply need more assistance to be able to pay for essential services,” Coleman said.
LIHEAP is currently funded with about $4 billion, the same amount as last year. In September, the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, which operates the program, asked Congress for an additional $6 billion in funding to help heat homes this winter.
To further stretch the existing funding, in August the state’s General Assembly approved a distribution plan that would decrease the amount of aid each family receives, in order to serve more people. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, said the system is untenable at existing funding levels.
“At the same time fuel prices have been increasing so the same amount of money buys less fuel and reduced money buys that much less, so what we face here is a kind of perfect storm,” Blumenthal said.
An additional $2 billion at minimum is needed to bolster the program, but ideally an additional $4 billion is needed, Blumenthal said.
“Last year we had an additional $2 billion as a supplement. This year, we're going to have the same crisis. We should deal with it now, rather than waiting for the crisis to actually hit Connecticut families,” he said.
