By Keith Whitcomb Jr
THE RUTLAND HERALD
While the cost of home heating fuel has been heading downwards since May, it’s still high and that has some worried about the winter.
“Prices hit a high point in late May, early June and have come steadily down, and they continue to go down,” said Matt Cota, executive director of the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association. “The market is in what’s called backwardation. What that means is the price of oil paid to be delivered today costs more than the price of oil for delivery tomorrow.”
That means there was little incentive for anyone to fill their tanks over the summer, he said. Home heating oil consumers have been interested in the price cap offerings fuel dealers have available.
He said about half of Vermont homes are heated using oil with the average household using 700 gallons. While prices are nearing $4 per gallon, factors well outside anyone’s control can impact them.
One factor is the Atlantic hurricane season, which can disrupt refineries on the coast. What’s happening now in Europe with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is another. Cota said the United States can supply much of Europe’s diesel fuel needs, which is good for those countries, but can affect prices.
“We know what the price is today at the port, and we know what the price is if we pick up the first of October or the first of November, but what we don’t know is what happens in between, and that’s what we’ll find out in the next few months,” he said. “The good news is the prices are trending in the right direction. We certainly want to make sure they continue to trend in the right direction as we go forward.”
Those in Vermont who need help paying their fuel bills often turn to the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). During the pandemic, the federal government allocated an extra $26.6 million to the normal $22 million LIHEAP block grant for Vermont, said Richard Giddings, fuel and utility programs director at the Department for Children and Families (DCF).
He said that extra $26.6 million had to be spent by the end of September, so there’s no ability to carry it forward, and so the state is only expecting $22 million for LIHEAP. He anticipates the same number of households, about 18,000, will be in need as they were last year.
“We’re watching the price very closely,” he said. “(DCF) Commissioner Sean Brown is in regular talks with the administration about if there potentially could be additional funding to help, because the price is still up.”
On Dec. 22, 2021, the price of a gallon of kerosene was $3.19. For home heating oil, it was $2.85; propane was $1.80. As of Aug. 27, kerosene was at $5.33, oil at $4.87, and propane at $1.94, said Giddings.
These are the prices certified fuel dealers use when working with LIHEAP.
The retail prices can be found on the Department of Public Service’s website, bit.ly/0902Price.
According to the DPS, the price of kerosene in August 2022 was $5.65 per gallon, up from the price in August 2021 when it was $3.23. The price of #2 heating fuel in August 2022 was $4.72, while a year before it was $2.79. Propane for August 2022 was $3.20 per gallon compared to $2.76 in August 2021.
Those who think they’ll need fuel assistance should contact DCF now, Giddings said, and make sure they’re ready to go when funding is available in late November.
The number of those in need will be high if activity at the food shelves is any indication, which is often is, according to Sue Minter, executive director of Capstone Community Action in Barre.
Community action groups like Capstone help administer food and fuel aid programs, supplementing them with their own fundraising efforts.
Minter said Capstone has seen a 35% increase in the number of people using its food shelf, which doesn’t bode well for how many will need help paying for fuel.
Many of the pandemic-era programs and initiatives launched in 2020 have ended or are winding down, she said, but the need remains.
“It’s definitely worrisome because we are seeing a 35% increase in the demand for food assistance, and we know that is an indicator of what’s going to happen when we start getting into the cold, winter months,” she said.
The hope is Capstone’s Fuel Your Neighbors campaign will be successful and help boost funding for assistance, she said.
Tom Donahue, chief executive officer at BROC Community Action in Rutland, said he’s likewise hoping Wheels for Warmth, a program that collects and sells tires, will do as well this year as it has in the past and help with some people’s fuel bills.
Last year, BROC distributed $435,000 in crisis fuel between Rutland and Bennington counties.
Donahue is concerned that if the price of fuel this winter is double what it was last year, then the crisis funds will only go half as far.
keith.whitcomb @rutlandherald.com
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