How To Stay Warm

With $5 Heating Fuel?

By Chelsea Rose Sargent

"I am a 71-year-old man and have been retired since 2000. With the price of fuel oil I have been forced to go back to work just to heat my home and pay my property taxes."

That was one of the many letters Bernie Sanders published this spring in "The Collapse of the Middle Class: Letters from Vermont to America".

This letter was based on difficulties in heating a home with fuel prices as they were last year—and now they are going up.

And fuel prices aren’t the only numbers going up.

"I’ve never seen anything like this," said Marian LaBonte, a family and support specialist at Community Action (CVCAC) in Randolph, in reference to the rising number of people asking for assistance who have never asked for assistance before.

"The demand is the highest we’ve ever seen in the last 13 seasons of the fuel assistance program," said the supervisor of the Vermont Fuel Assistance Program, Richard Moffi.

Last year approximately 32,800 families applied for fuel assistance and, of those, 21,700 were eligible for that assistance. Moffi expects that the number of people eligible for the fuel assistance program will only go up 3%. However the number of people applying, according to Moffi, is the real indicator of how things are going and Moffi expects that applications will be going up 10% this season.

Fuel Assistance has, so far this season, received funds in the form of a block grant from the federal government through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Last year state and general funds also went into creating the budget for the Fuel Assistance Program.

Last year the Fuel Assistance Program had a $23-million budget. This year the program has only $9 million from LIHEAP so far, which will not go as far as it has in the past due to rising costs.

"I have my fingers and toes crossed for more money out of Washington and that the legislature and administration are able to add some to that pot," Moffi said.

New Legislation

Worries about the upcoming crisis have sparked legislative action as well. In June, Act 209 was signed into law by Gov. Jim Douglas, which set up the process for creating a program that will help people to weatherize their homes and provide fuel efficiency programs for fuels other than oil, according to Richard Smith, the deputy commissioner at the Department of Public Service.

Smith pointed out that Vermont already has a program that helps low income Vermonters weatherize their homes, but the hope is to bring these opportunities to all Vermonters and help promote energy efficiency as well.

Also, a task force was created to look into other possibilities, chaired by Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie. According to Dubie, one of the main initiatives of the organization is to provide information. By calling 211 Vermonters can be redirected to programs that may be suited to help with their needs, and a website is also on the way. There will also be presentations to teach Vermonters how to use new heating options safely.

The task force also intends to make almost $9 million available for grants and low interest loans, Dubie said.

Programs

Some programs that Vermonters can look to for assistance with weatherization and fuel costs this winter are the following:

• Fuel Assistance Program: The Fuel Assistance Program is designed to help low income Vermonters with about 60% of their heating costs. Moffi recommends that even those who think that they might earn too much to be eligible should take the five minutes to apply because a lot of different factors are looked at when determining eligibility.

• Crisis Fuel: Crisis Fuel is available to low income Vermonters and can be used in addition to Fuel Assistance. Those not eligible for Fuel Assistance may still be eligible for Crisis Fuel.

• Weatherization: CVCAC has a weatherization program which provides low income Vermonters with free weatherization.

For all of these programs it is recommended that applications are completed as early as possible. CVCAC can be contacted for information and applications.

Banks Make Plans

Banks across Vermont will be meeting on July 23 to see if they can come up with plans to help Vermonters get through the winter, according to Susan G. Sherman, vice president of credit administration at the Randolph National Bank. Banks are also looking into giving extensions on existing loans during the fall.

Sarah Baker, at Randolph’s Chittenden Bank, said that on Thursday they will be finalizing a program that would grant loans with a 5.99% interest rate on projects intended to improve efficiency or make use of alternative energy.

The Vermont State Employees Credit Union has three programs, one in which they negotiate lower pre-buy costs for their members, one in which they offer loans to help pay for fuel this winter, and one for energy improvement according to Terrie Field, finance officer.

Also, according to Field, Efficiency Vermont may be willing to pay for the interest on certain projects.

Whether eligible for these programs or not, Moffi recommends going to www.efficiencyvermont.com for information about making homes more energy efficient. He recommends getting furnaces tuned up, moving furniture away from heating vents, stopping up drafts, sealing windows and doors, etc…

Wood Heat Option

Smith highly recommends that households look into heating with wood, as, according to May’s fuel report, wood costs less than half of what oil costs per BTU.

Charlie Martin, the vice president for Central Vermont Oil, recommends that people update their heating systems, saying that at current prices such an undertaking would pay for itself within three to five years. CV Oil is also purchasing bio heating oil, oil made out of soy brought in from the Midwest.

According to Martin it is difficult for oil dealers to hold their profit margin after purchasing oil at high prices. He expects, however, that people will budget and get assistance and find a way to pay for oil this year.

LaBonte is most worried about the elderly and the disabled who are on fixed budgets. She flipped through a folder of cases, trying to calculate how far food stamps would go and how far fuel assistance will go. She’s worried that people are going to have to choose between food and fuel this winter.

LaBonte recommends that people look out for their neighbors this year if they are elderly or can’t make it to work. "Vermonters are awesome about that sort of thing, and the community is giving," she said.

She’s hoping that communities will pull together and help each other make it through this season.