A recent house fire in Cedarville was just one of a number of house
fires already keeping the local volunteer fire departments busy this
winter season. According to Cedarville Fire Chief Michael Brown, the
threat of an increased number of house fires this winter is being
kindled by escalating heating costs.
While some people are opting to burn wood to keep warm, many others
are just trying to keep costs down by keeping the thermostat turned
low. Some, especially senior citizens, are struggling to decide what to
pay and what not to pay in an effort to keep their homes heated.
Help is out there, according to Joyce Boyd, deputy commissioner of
the Otsego Department of Social Services., through the Home Energy
Assistance Program (HEAP).
“We’ve had a rush of applications, but we normally do at the start of the season, which officially began Nov. 1,” said Boyd.
“For the first couple of months, people who we helped from the
previous year usually contact us. By later in the month,” Boyd said,
“we’ll be able to tell if there’s an unusually high amount of requests
for assistance.”
Residents can apply for assistance at a number of different
locations within the town of Otsego. For senior citizens over 60 years
of age they can apply at two different locations for HEAP assistance
through the Office for Aging, in Cooperstown and in Oneonta. For those
under 60 years old, they can apply through the Opportunities for Otsego
office in Oneonta.
In order to qualify for the HEAP program, which originated in 1981,
applicants must take an income test, verify county residence, state who
lives in the residence seeking heating assistance and confirm that they
have a relationship with a fuel or utility vendor.
There are two tiers of benefits, providing lesser or greater
assistance depending on where the applicant’s income falls, Boyd said.
Local utility companies, such as National Grid, accept HEAP payments
and encourage customers who can’t pay their bills to apply for HEAP
assistance.
National Grid also offers what they believe is a more affordable billing plan to help offset winter heating bills.
“We’re always concerned with the challenges that high fuel costs
have on our customer’s ability to pay, especially with prices up
significantly over last year,” said Alberto Bianchetti, spokesperson
for National Grid.
With the cost of natural gas up 35-45 percent higher than last year,
Bianchetti noted that National Grid, “does not set the price, we just
pass it along.”
He advised residents who are having difficulty paying their bills to
call as soon as possible. “If a customer ignores the bill and doesn’t
pay, if he doesn’t let us know, there are fewer things for us to do to
help,” he said. Budgeted billing is an option the utility company
offers people who are having a hard time making payments.
In an effort to “(level) payments throughout the year,” National
Grid averages out the customer’s bills over 12 months, which “makes the
winter heating season’s bills lower, but the milder months a bit
higher. It makes the winter months more manageable,” Bianchetti said.
Other tips are available to help customers get a handle on heating, he said.
“Programmable thermostats can be purchased at home improvement
centers or local hardware stores and you can usually install them
yourself,” he said.
“These can be programmed so that when you go to bed at night, or go
to school or work, the temperature is lowered automatically. You’re not
responsible for remembering to lower the temperature. It helps regulate
the heating of your home,” he added.
He also suggested better insulation of exterior walls, as well as
insulating outlets on outside walls, where drafts can occur. Changing
filters on your heating system was also another tip he offered.
For more information on the HEAP program for senior citizens, please
call the Office for the Aging at (607) 547-6410. All others can learn
more about the program by calling Opportunities for Otsego at (607)
433-8000.
For more energy saving tips from National Grid, check out their website at: www.nationalgridus.com/niagaramohawk/home/energyeff/4_fall.asp.
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