East Lyme, Old Lyme, and Lyme Residents Are Bracing For High Heating Bills

Temperatures are dropping. Fuel costs are rising. For families on a fixed income, that's not a promising combination.

About 15 to 20 families from Old Lyme and Lyme applied for fuel assistance this week at a special fuel assistance application session held at the Lymes' Senior Center on October 16. 

Although the government's fuel assistance program doesn't start until November 15, "people are smart to get in right now," said Kathy Tisdale, social services coordinator for the town of Lyme. It takes Thames Valley Council for Community Action, Inc., which oversees this program locally, a few weeks to process the applications, she notes, and at this time of year people are often hard-pressed to get an appointment.   

Whether their household incomes are low enough for them to qualify for this government program, however, remains to be seen. According to its web site, the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program is designed to help offset winter heating costs for households with incomes that fall at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, and for households with elderly, disabled and/or children under the age of six, with incomes between 150 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.

That's a pretty low threshold, however, and chances are many local families who can't afford to pay for enough fuel to see them through the winter won't qualify. Still, a lot of people are holding out hope that they will.

Rising Fuel Costs a Worry For Many 

Richard Gada, Sr., president and owner of Guy's Oil in Niantic which serves about 5,000 customers in Southeastern Connecticut, said that a number of his customers have told him to hold off on oil deliveries until after November 15, because they've applied for fuel assistance this year. 

The fuel assistance program covers the cost of everything, from propane to electric, oil to wood, but rising oil prices are the big worry for many.

According to Gada, the average tank holds about 275 gallons. Based on his current price of $3.89 a gallon (which according to Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is about average for New London county right now), one tank will cost about $925 to fill. As the average household uses about 800 gallons a year, Gada added, that's about four fill-ups per year.

There's no doubt, oil prices have risen but, at the same time, government funding for fuel assistance has dropped.  

"I had a woman from lyme who went from getting $800 a year to $200, that’s how badly it got cut," said Tisdale. "Last year it was so bad that I think the federal government actually had to step in and put in a request for more money."

According to Connecticut Department of Social Services, "vulnerable households" (those with people aged 60 or older, people with disabilities, and children under 6) may be eligible for up to $575 in basic winter heating benefits, "nonvulnerable households" up to $525. The minimum basic benefit is $350, but how much a family may get is determined after the household is deemed eligible.   

Oil Prices: Up or Down? 

Of course, the big question is how much heating oil is likely to cost this season. And there, Gada finds himself at a loss for answers when his customers ask about the best time to buy oil based on where prices are heading. 

"I don’t have a clue," Gada said. "I’ve been doing this for 50 years and this is really weird what the price has done this summer. One minute it's up, one minute it's down, you don't know what's triggering it. It's just very confusing. Predictions are that the prices are going to come down but personally I don’t believe that, not at this time of year."   

Indeed, if the recent past is any indication, oil prices are more likely to rise than fall.  

"Connecticut Residential Heating Oil Price is at a current level of 4.081, up from 4.072 last week and up from 3.759 one year ago. This is a change of 0.22% from last week and 8.57% from one year ago," reports ycharts.com, a web site that provides economic indicators for investors.   

"My thought is to do it now, because you don’t know what’s going to happen when it does get colder—and they say we’re going to have a relatively cold winter," said Gada.