Heating assistance arrives just in time for Rhode Islanders

www.wpri.com By Eyewitness News Jan 28, 2003, 9:22am

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Home-heating oil prices have risen again, causing cash-strapped residents to look to the government for help in keeping warm.

With the mercury dropping, the demand for heating oil has been great. But for some residents, the spike in the price of heating oil has made it difficult to afford heat.

Last week, the average price of home-heating oil was $1.539 a gallon, the highest in two years. On Monday, the average retail price was even higher, at $1.609 a gallon, according the Energy Office.

For these and other reasons, phones were ringing off the hook at the Energy Office, as residents called for assistance.

The office was arranging either cash grants through Rhode Island’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program or for emergency fuel deliveries, The Providence Journal reported.

On Friday, President Bush ordered the release of $200 million to a federal home heating aid program to help millions of low-income people across the nation pay their heating bills.

Rhode Island received $2 million to distribute to residents who qualify.

“We’re getting calls on every line,” said Janice M.

McClanaghan, state chief of energy and community services. McClanaghan said so far this season, about 22,000 households have received grants under the program averaging about $370 per household. With the extra $2 million, the agency should be able to provide grants for about 3,000 more households, she said.

The additional federal funds mean the state will have received a total of about $13.5 million under the program for the year that ends in September.

The price of home-heating oil continues to rise, generally tracking increases in the price of crude oil, partly because of the extreme cold, McClanaghan said. But also the uncertainty about the fate of oil-rich nations such as Venezuela, and the possibility of war against Iraq, affect prices.