Maine housing agency praises additional heating aid funds

A further $8 million to assist fund a heating help program in Maine is welcome information, however excessive oil costs imply the funding gained’t stretch far, a spokesman for MaineHousing stated Monday.

The funds for the Low-Earnings Dwelling Power Help Program are a part of an emergency funding bundle handed by Congress final week. In complete, the bundle consists of $1 billion in heating help, $8 million of which is coming to Maine.

“We’re very grateful for this assist,” Scott Thistle, a spokesman for MaineHousing stated. “We nonetheless stay very involved about how the excessive worth of heating fuels goes to create a hardship in Maine.”

A yr in the past, a gallon of heating oil price $2.85, however right now the statewide common is $4.40. Ultimately yr’s worth, about 38,000 households acquired a mean advantage of $758 or 265 gallons of oil, Thistle stated.

This yr, the identical profit quantity will purchase solely 172 gallons.

Thistle stated the company is hopeful further funds will probably be permitted to assist this system.

The state beginning taking functions for this system 5 weeks early this yr and demand is up, he stated. And although most houses warmth with oil, this system will assist pay for different fuels, comparable to propane, wooden and electrical energy.

About 38,000 households acquired assist by way of this system final yr.