Heating costs imperil those who rely on aid

Angela Marshall of Hyde Park owes $951.66 on her most recent electric bill, the vast majority of it from heating costs, she said. Having nearly exhausted her government heating aid, she worries that her thermostat will have to stay low for the rest of winter.

''I can't pay," said Marshall, 52, who receives Social Security disability payments. ''You can never catch up. It's hard."

In Mattapan, Michelle Lorquet, 40, figures she will run out of money to heat her home by the middle of next month. The blind mother of two has already paid $300 this month to heat her three-bedroom apartment and has nearly exhausted government heating assistance.

''I know it's going to get very cold in my house, but what can I do?" she said, explaining that she has devised a plan to keep herself and two teenage children warm. ''I have a little electric heater. And all of us will stay together in one room to stay warm."

The heating equation for the nearly 150,000 Massachusetts households like Marshall's and Lorquet's that receive heating assistance is worrisome. The maximum combined federal and state government subsidy this winter for Massachusetts is $765, and most households on the margins receive less. But with surging world demand driving up energy prices, that amount covers only one-quarter to one-third of a household's winter heating needs, said energy specialists. And this winter could be fierce: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts it will be 3.2 percent colder than last winter.

With the average home heating costs in the Northeast about 35 percent higher than last year, and with federal assistance flat and state and private programs incapable of meeting a surging need, advocates for the poor expect the majority of low-income New England households will burn through their heating aid subsidies in January, leaving them on their own for the rest of winter.

''The choices are stark, between paying rent, eating, prescriptions, and paying heat," said John Drew, executive vice president for Action for Boston Community Development, which administers federal heating subsidies to about 18,000 households in Boston, Brookline, and Newton. ''The result is going to be an awful lot of misery."

Though Congress authorized $5.1 billion for heating aid, lawmakers adjourned for the year having approved only $2.16 billion -- $20 million less than the amount allocated last year. The issue became entangled in the debate over oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, and lawmakers were unable to compromise on more heating assistance.

Congressional leaders have agreed to revisit the issue in January.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts said he would push Congress in January to approve more heating assistance for the poor, and urge President Bush to draw from an emergency fund of $181 million to provide heating subsidies.

''Providing energy assistance to the poorest citizens of this country during the harsh winter months should be America's top priority," Kennedy, a Democrat, said in a statement e-mailed yesterday.

The heating bill crunch is national. According to the US Department of Energy, homes heated with oil or natural gas will, on average, experience a sharp rise in costs this winter, while homes that use propane or electricity will see lesser increases.

There are few options for those unable to pay heating bills once government assistance runs out. A few charities, such as the United Way, have small programs to help out. In November, the Venezuelan government announced it would provide 12 million gallons of heating oil at a 40 percent discount to poor New England residents. But given that heating prices have risen 35 percent on average in the past year, ''the discount price this season is basically the full price last season," noted Brian O'Connor, spokesman for Citizens Energy, which will distribute the Venezuelan oil.

O'Connor said the group received more than 3,000 calls in December inquiring about the program. The oil provided by Venezuela will be distributed on a case-by-case basis according to financial need. The 12 million gallons is enough for about 40,000 families to receive as much as one tank of heating oil, about a quarter of the estimated need this winter, O'Connor said. Still, the total amount available will make only a slight dent in regionwide need.

Massachusetts lawmakers this year approved $20 million in emergency heating aid, the most ever in state history. That amount accounts for about 15 percent of the total government heating aid distributed in Massachusetts this winter.

As assistance dwindles and the temperature drops, advocates say, families will be forced into difficult decisions. Beth Ann Strollo, head of Quincy Community Action, which administers heating aid, said families ''will turn thermostats really low. They will use things like space heaters."

That option could, in turn, pose dangers.

''If we get into a very cold winter season, we will see a spike in the number of fires that occur because of alternative heating devices," said state Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan. ''There is a correlation between higher energy costs and a spike in fires."