News Service Category: Energy
As cost of home heating rises, federal assistance is lower than last year
BOSTON – Clarence Smith knows a thing or two about heating bills piling up. He says he is still paying off his natural gas bill from last year. “Right now, I’m still a little minus on the gas,” Smith said. There are concerns that thousands of people will soon be in the same predicament. As the weather cools, the cost…
With home heating bills headed higher, New England lawmakers seek more federal energy assistance for low-income families
WASHINGTON — With the cost to heat homes this winter set to jump dramatically because of the war in Ukraine, members of Congress from New England are pushing the federal government to provide more money to help low-income families pay the higher bills. Lawmakers are seeking an extra $1 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as…
Your electric bill may go up by more than 60 percent this winter. Here’s why.
National Grid has told the state that it aims to hike electric bills amid a surge in natural gas prices. Massachusetts consumers and businesses could be in for some sticker shock this winter when they open their electric bills — and feel the impact of a war an ocean away. A rate filing on Wednesday from National Grid, showing wintertime…
Massachusetts fuel assistance customers brace for massive energy bill increase
BOSTON – Annmarie Taylor-Alleyne says she’ll be lowering her thermostat this winter and turning the lights off more frequently just to try to make ends meet with her energy bills. “Sometimes I wonder how do I make it? I have my kids but it’s not every time I can ask them for help,” Taylor-Alleyne told WBZ-TV. She worries now how…
‘It’s going to be a crisis’: Nonprofit predicts major impact of surging electricity bills
BOSTON — Non-profits across Massachusetts are expecting a surge in people who will be needing help this winter because of the rising costs of home heating. This week, National Grid announced a 64 percent electricity rate increase starting on November 1st. National Grid is also proposing a 22 percent increase in its natural gas rates, and Eversource is proposing a…
‘It’s going to be a crisis’: Nonprofit predicts major impact of surging electricity bills
Non-profits across Massachusetts are expecting a surge in people who will be needing help this winter because of the rising costs of home heating. This week, National Grid announced a 64 percent electricity rate increase starting on November 1st. National Grid is also proposing a 22 percent increase in its natural gas rates, and Eversource is proposing a 38 percent…
Steeper Winter Heating Bills Loom, With Less Federal Aid
Energy costs are expected to rise even faster than overall inflation, but a key assistance program will lack the extra funds it got for Covid relief. The struggle for low-income families to heat their homes is familiar, but for many, this winter will be even tougher than last. Energy costs have been a source of significant pain for Americans who…
Increase in federal fuel aid desperately needed as prices soar
Washington must act now to keep low-income households warm this winter HIGH PRICES HAVE left millions of Americans struggling to pay their bills. The cost of virtually everything has skyrocketed, from food to rent to used cars, but particularly energy. Wellhead prices of natural gas have more than doubled in the last year and heating oil costs this winter will double…