Cuts in home-heating assistance hit hard in Maine

Cuts in the home-heating assistance program are hitting hard in Maine, where "at this time of year, almost nothing matters here as much as basic heat," writes Dan Barry of The New York Times. "While federal officials try to wean the country from messy and expensive heating oil, Maine remains addicted. The housing stock is old, most communities are rural, and many residents cannot afford to switch to a cleaner heat source." (Times photo by Nicole Bengiveno)

Barry runs the numbers: "As part of the drive to cut spending, the Obama administration and Congress have trimmed the energy-assistance program that helps the poor — 65,000 households in Maine alone — to pay their heating bills. Eligibility is harder now, and the average amount given here is $483, down from $804 last year, all at a time when the price of oil has risen more than 40 cents in a year, to $3.71 a gallon."

Barry's article is built around a heart-rending tale of a man who saw his heating assistance cut by three-fourths, was running out of oil and had no money to buy a load, and had unpaid bills that kept him from getting a third load on credit. To read the tale, click here.

The state tightened eligibility requirements, reports Emily Guerin of The Forecaster in Falmouth. Governments in some towns (every place in rural New England is part of a town) and nonprofit organizations are supplementing assistance. "Some have aggressively raised money, while others have set aside tax revenue to help heat residents' homes," Guerin writes.