Home Heating Aid & Effiency

Vermonters are facing a 26 percent hike in their heating fuel bills this winter. The fuel assistance issue needs to be front and center in more minds in Vermont than it is. It can be summarized as follows: Last year, if a household was at or below 125% of federal poverty and applied for fuel assistance for the full seasonal benefit, they were awarded, on average about $1,370. This year's average full season fuel benefit is $1,170 - down $200 - while prices of nearly every fuel are up. (Home heating oil is up about 60 cents a gallon, depending on the comparison day, etc.) So each dollar of assistance buys a lot less, and people will be getting fewer dollars. Those working in heating field are expecting lots of folks to be out of fuel and out of money much earlier in the season.

Its going to be a tough year for a lot of people.

The Bush administration is turning a blind eye to that reality. President Bush recently vetoed $2.4 billion in LIHEAP help for struggling families. President Bush wants to slash $379 million from the program that provides critical help to 5.8 million senior citizens on fixed-incomes and low-income families with children, including approximately 20,000 households in Vermont.

As this happens, there is great potential for tightening homes, and other thermal efficiency implementations. Remember last January's study with the unwieldy title “Vermont Energy Efficiency Potential Study for Oil, Propane, Kerosene and Wood Fuels Report” which spawned H 520? Succinctly, it found "the net present savings for the State of Vermont for long-term implementation of energy efficiency programs for oil, propane, kerosene and wood throughout the State over the next decade (2007-2016) is $486 million". Translation - that is $486 million in savings in Vermont after expenses. And $253 million of those net savings could be realized in the residential sector. That’s over $1,000 per Vermont household. According to the report, every dollar spent on thermal efficiency would save over $4.

Lets just find a way to make our houses warmer, while helping the planet too.