U.S. consumers are expected to pay record prices for heating oil, electricity, and propane to warm their homes this winter, and low-income families will need government assistance to pay those bills, government energy officials said Tuesday. Heating-fuel expenses this winter will be highest for heating oil, with the average family paying over $1,800 for the season, up 28 percent, or $400, from last year, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association. The association expects propane costs to average over $1,700, up 30 percent or $380 from last year. Consumers that use electricity for heat will pay over $880 this winter, up 7 percent, or $58. Natural-gas expenses will be the cheapest of the major heating fuels, averaging about $880, up 5 percent or $50, the group said. The group's executive director, Mark Wolfe, called on the Bush administration to immediately release money from the government's Low Income Home Energy Program (LIHEAP) to help poor families pay their heating bills as well as cover past-due high cooling bills from the summer. “These record prices will place a significant burden on low- and moderate-income families this winter with record-high prices,” Wolfe said. The group's report is based on preliminary heating-fuel estimates from the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration (EIA), which will release its official winter forecast next month.
