No aid planned to help low-income families, seniors with energy costs [View All]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05277/582214.stm

The Bush administration yesterday said it has no plans to ask Congress for additional funds to help low-income families and financially stretched seniors deal with rapidly escalating home heating bills.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration is projecting that this winter's natural gas prices will run as much as 77 percent more than last winter in parts of the Midwest (Western Pennsylvania utilities predict increases of as much as 45 percent over last winter); home heating in the Northeast could rise by as much as 33 percent, while electricity in the South could go up 18 percent, the department's analysts said. That could mean that thousands of households won't be able to afford enough heat or electricity.

Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman yesterday touted a new "Energy Hog" campaign designed to persuade more Americans to conserve energy.

But he said asking Congress to increase money for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program "is not on the agenda" for the administration "at this point."