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.

www.rochesterdandc.com By Joseph Spector Democrat and Chronicle

(January 28, 2003) — Sen. Charles Schumer on Monday renewed calls for the Bush administration to consider using the federal government’s oil reserves to help Americans cope with the rising cost of gasoline and home heating oil.

Rochester already has seen a 34 percent increase in gasoline prices and a 23 percent spike in home heating oil costs from last year, Schumer said.

Releasing millions of gallons from the federal government’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve -- or even just threatening to do it -- would spur global oil producers to sell more on the open market and stop the increase in oil and gasoline prices, Schumer said as he stood in 2-degree weather near gas pumps at a Brighton gas station.

“Even if the president were to tell the OPEC nations that he was thinking of using it, the price would come down immediately,” he said.

The reserve, a cache of some 600 million barrels of oil, was created in 1975 to help America respond to oil emergencies. Schumer said former President Clinton checked prices in 2000 by releasing 30 million barrels.

The average gas price in Rochester was $1.18 per gallon last year. On Monday, the average price was $1.58 per gallon. The average cost of residential heating oil was $1.44 per gallon last week, a 33-cent increase from last year, according to the Department of Energy.

With the oil strike in Venezuela and the uncertainty of a war with Iraq, Schumer said now is the time to look to the reserves.

But others disagreed, saying the reserves should be used only in emergencies.

“It’s something we should use in light of a national fuel emergency,” said Gary Tschaepe, regional public affairs manager for the AAA Western and Central New York.

“It’s not the right time for us to release the fuel reserves based on an economic decision.”

White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said the administration is constantly monitoring changes in the world oil market and the amount of reserves. He said the country’s reliance on foreign oil is the reason Bush wants Congress to pass an energy bill that would further explore domestic energy resources.

Moreover, Bush last week released $200 million -- including $36 million for New York -- to a federal home heating aid program to help millions of people with low incomes pay their heating bills, Lisaius said.

In Rochester, the American Red Cross/RG&E Heating Fund is still accepting applications. For those who qualify, the program provides heating assistance to low-income families who need oil, propane, kerosene or help with paying a utility bill when a disconnect notice has been issued.

E-mail address: jspector@DemocratandChronicle.com

www.quicken.com

Monday, January 27, 2003 04:37 PM ET  Printer-friendly version   NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The national average retail price of regular gasoline rose by 1.4 cents a gallon to $1.473 in the latest week, the Energy Information Administration said Monday.

The price is up for the seventh straight week and at the highest level since last Sept. 24. Retail gasoline has gained 8.3%, or 11.3 cents, over the past seven weeks amid worries over an impending war with Iraq and the continuing strike disrupting Venezuela's oil exports.

Prices are 37.2 cents above a year earlier.

Prices are based on a survey of 900 retail outlets.

Prices gained in all regions.

On the East Coast, prices were up 0.4 cents at $1.466 and were 37.6 cents above a year earlier.

Midwest prices were 2.1 cents higher at $1.459 and were 38.3 cents above a year earlier.

Gulf Coast prices were 0.7 cent higher at $1.414 and were 36.8 cents above a year earlier.

Rocky Mountains prices were 2.4 cents higher at $1.438 and were 32.1 cents above a year earlier.

West Coast prices were up 2.1 cents at $1.569 and were 35.9 cents above a year earlier.

• By David Bird, Dow Jones Newswires; 1-201-938-4423; david.bird@dowjones.com

www.rochesterdandc.com By Joseph Spector Democrat and Chronicle

(January 27, 2003) — Sen. Charles Schumer renewed calls Monday for the Bush administration to consider using the federal government’s oil reserves to help Americans cope with the rising cost of gasoline and home heating oil.

Schumer said that Rochester already has seen a 34 percent increase in gasoline prices and a 23 percent spike in home heating oil costs from last year.

Releasing millions of gallons from the federal government’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve -- or even just threatening to do it -- would spur global oil producers to sell more on the open market and stop the increase in oil and gasoline prices, Schumer said as he stood in 2-degree weather near gas pumps at a Brighton gas station.

“Residents of Rochester are being socked with a quadruple whammy this winter: a soft economy, rising unemployment, higher gas and heating oil prices, and bitter weather conditions that threaten to make heating bills even higher,” Schumer said.

“Unfortunately, with the oil strike in Venezuela an continuing unrest in the Middle East, we might not see relief for these high oil prices unless something is done quickly.”

The reserve, a cache of some 600 million barrels of oil, was created in 1975 to help America respond to oil emergencies. Schumer argued that the Clinton administration helped check rising prices in 2000 by releasing 300 million barrels, and said Bush should do the same.

The average gas price in Rochester was $1.18 per gallon last year. On Monday, the average price was $1.58 per gallon, Schumer said. The average cost of residential heating oil was $1.44 per gallon last week, a 33-cent increase from last year, according to the Department of Energy.

E-mail address: jspector@DemocratandChronicle.com.

www.billingsgazette.com

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) - Gas prices rose nearly one and a half cents per gallon over the past two weeks, an industry analyst said Sunday.

The average weighted price for gas nationwide, including all grades and taxes, was about $1.52 per gallon Friday, according to the Lundberg Survey of 8,000 sta-tions nationwide. Gas cost just over $1.50 a gallon on Jan. 3, the date of the last Lundberg Survey.

Contributing to the price rise was the continuing oil production strike in Venezuela, a fear of war against Iraq, the intense cold weather on America's East Coast, which is prompting some refiners to produce more heating oil, and the addi-tion of a costlier gasoline additive in California, Trilby Lundberg said.

California is phasing out the use of methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE, an addi-tive that is blamed for pollut-ing drinking water after it leaked from storage tanks. Some refineries are beginning to replace it with ethanol, a corn-based fuel additive that is more expensive but better for the environment. , Lundberg said.

That has increased prices in California, which in turn pushed up the nationwide price average, Lundberg said.

Federal law requires gasoline to contain a 2 percent oxygen additive - such as MTBE or ethanol - to cut down on air pollution. The national weighted average price of gasoline, including taxes, at self-serve pumps Friday was about $1.49 per gallon for regular, $1.58 for mid-grade and $1.67 for premium.