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More in Maine will qualify for fuel assistance, but the average benefit will drop with the rise in applicants.

By DIETER BRADBURY, Staff Writer October 10, 2008

 

 

The number of Maine households that qualify for help paying their fuel bills this winter will jump by more than 50 percent under new income guidelines for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

At the same time, the federal government will more than double funding under the program, with at least $49 million destined for Maine this year, compared with $24 million last year.

Those numbers, coupled with recent declines in heating oil prices, offer a glimmer of hope in what had been a bleak outlook for keeping Maine homes warm this winter.

But energy officials and social service agencies aren't jumping for joy yet.

With more families eligible for aid, the average benefit per household is projected to drop by $200. And even though prices have fallen considerably since mid-summer, the statewide average cost of home heating oil is still about 80 cents a gallon higher this week than it was a year ago.

"We're encouraging Maine people to be cautiously optimistic, but to continue their conservation measures," said John Kerry, who heads the state Office of Energy Independence and Security.

Congress agreed to spend $5.1 billion on low-income fuel assistance in the current fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, including a $49 million baseline allocation for Maine. The state may get more money from a $590 million discretionary fund handled by the administration.

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, is urging the administration to continue releasing discretionary heating fuel funding to Maine because most households here use oil for heat -- and the cost this season is forecast to be 23 percent higher than last winter.

Given the economic climate and the onset of cold weather, "it's essential that we utilize every resource and avenue available to expand assistance and alleviate the crisis," Snowe said in a written statement.

About 50,000 Maine households received heating fuel aid last year, according to MaineHousing, which oversees the program. That number is expected to climb to 78,000 households under the new guidelines, which extend eligibility to families earning up to 75 percent of the statewide median income.

Betsy Sawyer-Manter, who oversees energy assistance for the Peoples Regional Opportunity Program, said it's important that more Maine families qualify for aid.

"I think it is a significant step, because last year we had to deny a significant number of people who applied to us because they were over income (limits)," she said.

By this time last year, 25,000 people statewide had applied for aid, said Dan Simpson, spokesman for Maine Housing. The figure this year is 30,000 -- even before the new eligibility guidelines were announced.

He said the average benefit last year was $750 per household. This year, the figure is expected to be about $550, because more families will qualify for help.

Kerry, at the state energy office, said the benefit only provides 15 to 20 days of heating in the average home, so families can't count on it to get them through the entire season.

He said it's important for people to budget for heating expenses, take steps to conserve, be aware of the resources available and watch out for their family members and neighbors who may need assistance.

"I'm very concerned about the potential for a sudden and rapid increase in prices when the real cold weather sets in," he said.

For now, moderating prices have taken some of the pressure off. The credit crisis that was spawned on Wall Street and has spread into global markets is driving crude oil prices down, leaving the statewide average price of home heating oil at $3.62 a gallon this week.

"It's probably the only bright spot in the economy," said Simpson at MaineHousing.

This week's price is a big decline from July, when heating oil was going for $4.50 or more a gallon. But it's still well above the October 2007...