Boston, Massachusetts: Heating Help Demand Surges Early as Boston Agency Fields More Than 200 Calls a Day

Demand for help with home heating costs is rising early across Massachusetts. Action for Boston Community Development, which helps people in Boston and 10 nearby towns, is fielding more than 200 calls a day about the Home Energy Assistance Program, and questions about the program have more than doubled since last winter, CBS News Boston reported on Friday, October 23.

"We're seeing more than 200 calls daily," said Sharon Scott-Chandler, the group's chief executive, in a statement shared with CBS News Boston. "This early in the season, that's unusual." Families who call are already worried about the high price of oil and energy, she said.

What Massachusetts is adding

Governor Maura Healey has put $15 million in supplemental funding into the federal Home Energy Assistance Program, known as HEAP, CBS News Boston reported. Close to $34 million more will go to a one-time relief program for middle-income households that use oil to heat their homes.

The money follows an emergency step the governor took earlier this month. On October 5, Healey declared a State of Energy Emergency and issued an executive order that created the new benefit. The governor's office said about 50,000 middle-class households that heat with oil will now be eligible for the new help, and about 156,000 low-income households will receive increased assistance through HEAP.

Heating oil is the pressure point. The governor's office said the average price of home heating oil in Massachusetts reached $6.08 a gallon as of September 28, up from $3.52 a year earlier, and about one in five Massachusetts households heats with oil. Healey said many households could pay as much as $700 more for a single fill-up, according to CBS Boston.

Who can apply, and when

For now, only the low-income HEAP program is taking applications. State officials said more than 6,400 first-time applicants and 53,000 returning applicants have already signed up, and the Massachusetts Office of Housing and Livable Communities has received more than 13,000 submissions through its interest form for the new help.

The new middle-income benefit will not launch until December. Under the governor's order, households earning between 60 and 100 percent of the state median income can receive up to $680. For a family of four, that means households earning more than $103,049 and up to $171,749 may qualify. The benefit stays open through April 30, 2027, or until the funding runs out.

Help for low-income households starts on November 1, when the heating season opens. Current HEAP assistance ranges from about $525 to $1,200 per household. Under the governor's plan, low-income households that heat with oil can expect a 20 percent increase in assistance, and households that heat with utilities can expect a 15 percent increase.

How to get help now

Officials urged anyone who is struggling with bills to contact a local community action agency, which can point them to the right program. In Boston, that agency is Action for Boston Community Development. Residents who miss HEAP today may still qualify for the middle-income oil benefit in December, so an early call can put a household on the list before the coldest weeks arrive.

The early rush tells its own story. Applications opened on October 1, the heating season does not start until November 1, and a Boston agency is already taking calls at twice last winter's pace.