Home heating oil price fears are real on Long Island. Here's how to ease the strain on your wallet.
The price of home heating oil in parts of the Tri-State Area is almost double what it was this time last year. That could mean a painful winter ahead for homeowners.
CBS News New York spoke to experts about what's driving the spike, and what consumers can do to keep their heating bills from burning up their budgets.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, heating oil is used by only 3% of homes nationwide, but of those, 82% are in the Northeast. That number is around 40% on Long Island, where homeowners are bracing for high costs and battles over the thermostat this winter.
"Living on a fixed income with these kind of prices, it's going to be very tough," retiree Juan Estevez said.
Tragar Home Services, a residential heating and cooling company on Long Island, has been fielding all types of questions from homeowners about how they can afford the upcoming season's bills.
"There is a lot of concern. This is probably the largest increase in oil prices we've seen since 2008," CEO Dennis Traina said.
Traina's advice is to consider locking in a price ceiling or cap program if your oil company offers them.
Phyllis Dalton of Levittown said she got tired of price volatility and just switched to a heat pump.
"Over $6 a gallon, I was like, wow, that's a lot," Dalton said.
She also had a home energy audit.
"We will go in the attic and air seal the attic, air seal penetrations. We try to raise up insulations levels," said Rick Alarimo, project manager for Home Efficiency Experts.
Rocco Lacertosa, the head of the New York State Energy Coalition, which represents the heating oil trade, said the war in Iran is driving up prices and there's no quick fix.
"If they reached a peace agreement tomorrow morning, it would take some time for things to smooth out, where prices get back to some kind of normalcy," Lacertosa said.
Government heating assistance is available for low-income households, but many middle-income families may find themselves making tough choices. Traina said Tragar Home Services created the Fueling Kindness program, which delivers free fuel to nominated struggling families. The nonprofit initiative is funded through donations.
"Between putting food on the table and heating their homes," Traina said. "So [with] our Fueling Kindness nonprofit, we deliver 150 gallons of free home heating oil to families in need. It's challenging times."
