Low-income Vermonters who qualify for fuel assistance will be protected from soaring prices this winter after lawmakers and Gov. Phil Scott agreed on Friday to boost subsidies for heating oil and kerosene.
Scott and legislative leaders will set aside an additional $15.3 million to cover the higher fuel costs, which have spiked dramatically since the United States’ war with Iran.
As of last week, the average cost of residential heating oil in Vermont has risen 79 percent during the past year, from $3.41 per gallon to $6.10, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Kerosene is up 61 percent over a similar time period.
The spike in costs means last winter’s $22.6 million in federal fuel assistance isn’t going to be nearly enough to provide the same support to the 14,872 households who received it.
On average, those households got about $1,210 each last year to help pay their heating fuel costs. Eligible fuels include heating oil, propane, kerosene, natural gas, wood or wood pellets, and electricity when used as a primary heat source.
The Scott administration initially calculated that the program would need an additional $8 million in state support this winter to be able to help people purchase the same amount of fuel. But that still would have left low-income people in the program paying higher out-of-pocket costs.
“We wanted to hold them harmless because we know they’re paying more for a bunch of other things,” explained Sen. Andrew Perchlik (D/P-Washington), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The Emergency Board, which is composed of the governor and the chairs of four legislative committees focused on state finances, is empowered to adjust the state budget when the legislature is out of session.
The state leaders agreed to add $12.7 million in state funds to the Federal Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP. The money had already been set aside in anticipation of the federal government reducing benefit programs.
They also agreed to add $2.6 million to the state’s crisis fuel fund, which supports low-income people who are close to running out of heating fuel in winter.
That program served about 2,400 people last year. The budget increase is meant to cover not only the higher cost of fuel but also the larger number of people who might need help this winter, explained Miranda Gray, a deputy commissioner in the Department for Children and Families.
Rep. Robin Scheu (D-Middlebury), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, stressed that if the federal government boosts federal heating assistance, then the state funds will go back in reserves.
Scott agreed, calling the increase “the right thing, at this point.”
“Hopefully we’ll be reimbursed for this increased amount,” Scott said, noting that the fuel cost increase “could have been avoided but hasn’t been.”
Scott’s spokesperson, Amanda Wheeler, did not explain how Scott thinks higher fuel prices could have been avoided.
Perchlik thanked Scott and administration officials for their flexibility and speedy response to the problem.
“It’s a good example of working together to get something done for Vermonters,” he said.
Predicting the fuel support needed in Vermont is tricky because it’s based on weather and future fuel prices, explained Jared Duval, executive director of the Energy Action Network, which works toward meeting state climate goals.
But Duval said the current price trend was “dire.”
“With no end in sight to the Iran war or to Russia’s war on Ukraine, the safe assumption is that prices for fossil fuels — especially for heating oil and kerosene — will remain very high for the foreseeable future,” he said.
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