By Molly Bolan
THE KEENE SENTINEL
Across the country, skyrocketing energy rates have been a hot topic as the weather gets colder — and the Monadnock Region won’t be spared the impact.
Liberty Utilities customers in Keene can expect to see a 56 percent increase in their bills this winter, according to Emily Burnett, a company spokeswoman. For example, a household that paid about $830 for gas last winter — the average among local Liberty customers — likely will pay close to $1,300 this year.
“The increase is [due] to the cost of the energy we supply to customers,” Burnett wrote in an email to The Sentinel. “We purchase on the energy market and pass those costs directly to customers without a markup in price.”
Several factors play into the hike, including Hurricane Ida’s detrimental impact on gas production in August and higher demand for natural gas abroad, according to a web page Liberty has dedicated to the rate changes. The Northeast as a whole regularly sees higher energy rates than the rest of the country, Burnett added, due to the limited gas infrastructure in the region.
Liberty, which serves 1,250 commercial and residential customers in Keene, uses a propane and air system in the city, which is similar to natural gas, Burnett said. Liberty customers across the rest of the state use natural gas, and those customers can expect bills to be 55 percent higher than last winter.
Increased gas prices affect more than just heating costs — the fuel is also used to generate electricity, meaning those bills are also expected to increase, the N.H. Bulletin reported. That contributes to demand, especially after an unusually warm summer called for more electricity generation, according to Liberty.
Eversource, another utility provider in the Monadnock Region, won’t know exactly how customers will be impacted until later this year, when it will file its proposed rate changes with the state Public Utilities Commission, according to spokesman William Hinkle.
While some households may be able to improve their homes’ heating efficiency to lower bills, low-income families are most likely to feel the sting of the price hikes, according to the N.H. Bulletin. The dramatic jump in energy costs is arriving at a time when the U.S. Census Bureau reports nearly one in five households in New Hampshire struggling to manage expenses.
Across the country, energy bills are expected to reach extraordinary heights this winter. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, those who heat their homes with propane will see the biggest jump in winter-to-winter bills, with an average increase of 54 percent nationwide. The soaring energy prices are driven by a greater global demand and lower U.S. inventory, resulting in the highest prices the country has seen in a decade. Heating oil bills are expected to rise 43 percent on average from last year, natural gas 30 percent and electricity 6 percent.
In 2019, the largest share of Granite Staters — 42 percent — heated their homes with fuel oil, according to the EIA.
Dead River Co., which provides oil to customers in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts, did not disclose how much customers could expect to see bills increase when asked by The Sentinel.
“As we emerge out of the Covid lockdown, energy demand is returning faster than supply, causing prices to increase,” said Lisa Morrissette, director of marketing and communications, in an email. “Energy providers must reflect these increased costs in the price to their customers.”
New Englanders’ wallets could find some comfort, however, in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s prediction of a warmer-than-average winter across much of the eastern U.S.
Liberty and Dead River Co. both offer payment plans to help customers manage bills. And there are other services locally and across the state to address consumers’ energy needs.
Southwestern Community Services, a community action organization serving Cheshire and Sullivan counties, provides fuel assistance to about 4,500 clients each year, according to Terra Rogers, program director of employment and energy.
Rogers said she hasn’t heard much concern about energy prices so far. There are many factors besides high energy prices that play into people’s decisions to apply for fuel assistance, she noted, and the organization typically sees more applications during colder winters.
“We’re certainly here if anybody is needing help,” Rogers said, adding that people may not realize they qualify for fuel assistance, which is federally funded through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
“I definitely try to encourage as many people to reach out to us to apply as possible,” she said.
Similarly, Keene’s human services manager, Natalie Darcy, said that while a few applications are already in for the city’s fuel assistance program, there hasn’t been much buzz about the projected price increases.
Meanwhile, last month, U.S. Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen, both D-N.H., joined other congressional leaders in calling for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to release funds for LIHEAP ”as swiftly and at the highest level possible,” according to an Oct. 18 news release from Shaheen’s office.
“As the main federal program that helps low-income households and seniors with their energy bills, LIHEAP provides critical assistance during the cold winter and hot summer months,” the senators wrote in a letter to the Biden administration. “… In addition, millions of low-income families, including seniors, are facing new and severe financial hardship due to the coronavirus, making the assistance provided through LIHEAP more important than ever.”
This article is being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.