Image by Elizaveta Maximova from Pixabay 

September 21, 2023 - Home heating costs this winter will remain unaffordable for millions of lower income families. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), representing the state directors of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), on Wednesday released its projections of home heating costs for the upcoming winter heating season.

Prices for home heating this coming winter will remain at near record levels for home heating due to an expected colder winter except for the states in the western part of the nation. The only bright spot is an expected decline in the cost of natural gas heating by 7.8 percent relative to last winter, from $787 to $726 (Table 1).

For those using heating oil, prices are expected to increase by 8.7 percent to $2,275, up from $2,094 last year, reflecting the increasing tightening in petroleum markets, and more recently due to fears of a supply shortfall because of recent decisions by Russia and Saudi Arabia to cut back on petroleum production. Households heating with propane can expect a 4.2% increase in expenditures, from $1,476 last winter to $1,538 this year.



According to Mark Wolfe, Executive Director of NEADA, the continued high cost of home heating, coupled with increased demand for summer cooling due to rising temperatures, will put millions of lower income families at risk of falling behind on their energy bills. This can leave families with no choice but to make difficult decisions between paying for food, medicine, and rent. As a result, NEADA sent a letter today to the Congressional Leadership asking for a $2 billion supplemental increase in LIHEAP of to maintain the current program funding level of $6 billion to cover the continued high cost of home heating and cooling due to the increased number of summer heat waves.

The letter notes that many states have reported that applications are up by between 10 and 20 percent from last year’s levels. If funding is reduced to the $4 billion level as currently included in the House and Senate spending bills, states will be forced to reduce the number of households served by up to one million households and reduce average benefit levels.

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Source: NEADA