Massachusetts fuel assistance customers brace for massive energy bill increase
BOSTON – Annmarie Taylor-Alleyne says she'll be lowering her thermostat this winter and turning the lights off more frequently just to try to make ends meet with her energy bills.
"Sometimes I wonder how do I make it? I have my kids but it's not every time I can ask them for help," Taylor-Alleyne told WBZ-TV.
She worries now how she'll afford a 64% increase in her electric bill from National Grid, which the utility said it has to pass on to customers starting November 1 due to rising costs of obtaining fuel.
"I say, 'Wow.' I have to buy blankets and sheets to keep myself warm and keep the lights going," Taylor-Alleyne said.
She gets fuel assistance from Action for Boston Community Development, which helps 22,000 households and is scrambling itself to find additional resources.
"We are asking for more money to support different programs at the state and national level," ABCD president and CEO Sharon Scott-Chandler said.
Attorney General Maura Healey, the Democratic candidate for governor, said she convened a meeting with utilities, state regulators and advocacy groups this week. While she says consumers should look into payment plans, she added the state should look into more.
"A look at how we procure and purchase energy to smooth out the volatility and sticker shock we're seeing," Healey said.
That is exactly how Annmarie Taylor-Alleyne describes what she's seeing. She's looking to see where else she can to cut costs in her limited budget.
"I have to sit back and think about what I'm going to do in order to survive," Taylor-Alleyne said.
Gov. Charlie Baker said New England governors have reached out to the Biden administration looking for help with rising fuel costs and availability, but with limited response.
"There's a number of things we've asked for and are waiting for their response. New England governors have been talking and pushing the feds on this since July," Baker said.
