(Host) Even though the price of heating oil is much lower than a year ago, state officials say the demand for Vermont’s low income heating assistance program is growing.
As the cold weather approaches, it’s expected that as many as a thousand Vermont families a week will apply for help.
VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports.
(Kinzel) A year ago, the price of heating oil went through the roof. In some parts of the state it exceeded $4 a gallon. This year, prices have fallen as much as 35 percent from that peak, but demand for heating assistance remains very strong.
Richard Moffi is the director of the state’s low income heating assistance program. He thinks the state’s weak economy is a major reason why demand hasn’t gone down and he says a number of families are applying for assistance who have never applied before:
(Moffi) "We expect that this year we will be up at the end of the season – which is February 28th – that we’ll see about 27,000 families. It’s a modest increase but folks are still looking for help. Folks are still struggling."
(Kinzel) According to the latest fuel report, the cost of a gallon of heating oil is roughly $2.40. Moffi says even this lower price is still too high for many low income families.
(Moffi) "For home heating oil, anything that’s over $2 a gallon is still really difficult. When you’re living on a fixed income, on Social Security, have limited hours or working at lower wages, $2 a gallon is nice but it’s still pretty much unaffordable for low-income Vermonters."
(Kinzel) Unlike many other human service programs, Moffi says this program doesn’t have a hard and fast income eligibility cap because there are many deductions that are made to a family’s income.
So while the actual gross income limit for a family of three is about $23,000 a year, Moffi says it can be considerably higher when all the deductions are factored in.
(Moffi) "That’s the bottom line number. Folks can apply, have a higher income from that, and once we get down with going through 17 different income deductions, many folks are still eligible for assistance."
(Kinzel) Moffi has some simple advice for families who wonder if they qualify for the program. That advice is: "When in doubt – apply."
For VPR News I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier