Federal Heating Aid Requests Rising

Nearly 5 million households, about a quarter more than last winter, are having serious enough problems meeting winter heating costs that they've asked for government help, according to a nationwide survey.

"Prices soar, temperatures plummet and poor families are left out in the cold," said Mark Wolfe, director of an association that represents state low-income energy assistance officials.

The reports from the state offices show that so far this year the number of households seeking help has increased by 1.1 million, a 26 percent jump over last winter. In some states the number of applicants has nearly doubled and is likely to go still higher, officials said.

The federal government has distributed $2.26 billion to the states for heating assistance, and money is available, Wolfe said. But he expressed concern that the state assistance funds will run dry in the weeks ahead as families begin getting their January and February heating bills.

"We're talking about elderly, or disabled people, or a family with young children, usually making less than $10,000 per year," said Wolfe, director of the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association. "We're trying to encourage people to apply. We don't want people not to buy medicine or food to pay for heat."

Residential prices for natural gas, home heating oil and propane have jumped by 40 percent to as much as double what they were last year. In some regions high electricity prices also have added to heating bills.

Wolfe said information supplied by state offices to his Washington-based association shows that so far this year 4.9 million households have requested assistance and are in the pipeline to get money from the federal fund.

In response to an association survey, state officials across the country from Maine to Oregon and from Georgia and Florida to New Mexico expressed concern that they won't have enough money to meet the needs of poor families, some being forced to choose between food and heat.

"At current rate of demand the state expects to be out of funds by the end of March," wrote an official from the Florida assistance office, worried about getting people through the winter and then helping people this summer meet air conditioning costs.

In Iowa, state officials reported that the average natural gas bill for home heating was expected this year to be $807, compared with $354 a year go. The number of households that have sought help in the state has increased by 21 percent this winter to 62,000.

When the Iowa office asked elderly applicants what they do when they can't pay for heat, one in five "reported going without needed medical care or prescription drugs to pay heating bills," the office reported.

Maine reported receiving 65,000 requests for assistance, but 7,000 of them have been turned down because no money is available, according the state's survey response. Like many other states, the Maine office is using money earmaked for weatherization and furnace repairs to meet the more immediate bill-paying needs.

Some of the sharpest increase in the number of applicants has come in states where winter heating bills normally are not a problem, such as Georgia, with 120,000 household requests, and Louisiana, with 92,100, both double from a year ago. The number of applicants jumped by 80 percent to nearly 90,000 in Oregon, where electricity bills have soared in recent weeks and many homes have electric heat.

States with more than 150,000 households applying for assistance were New York, with 818,000; Michigan, 362,000; Illinois, 350,000; Pennsylvania, 280,750; Ohio, 224,700; North Carolina, 151,000; and New Jersey, 150,000.

Congress last year increased the amount of federal low-income energy assistance money from $1.4 billion to $2.26 billion, and some lawmakers have said additional money will have to be provided to make it through Oct. 1, the end of the fiscal year.

Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota on Wednesday called for a boost in spending for the assistance program. His state reported a 30 percent increase in applicants for assistance, about 15,000 families.

Various states have different criteria for eligibility. Some states provide for anyone whose income is 150 percent of the poverty level or 60 percent of the median income in the state. Most states have eased eligibility requirements this winter because of the jump in heating costs.

In some cases families with incomes of up to $40,000 a year may be eligible, but most of the applicants are from households earning less than $10,000 a year, said Wolfe.

The average assistance is $350, but many states reported higher amounts up to $1,200 in some cases. The Energy Department estimates the typical heating costs for households using oil or natural this winter will be close to $1,000 for the winter.

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