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Falling Fuel Prices and an Ascending Need for Assistance
By Laura Knoy on Tuesday, October 13, 2009.
Energy watchers are predicting that gas and oil prices will be lower than last year, but a a higher unemployment rate and a nation deep in recession means more people will be asking for some kind of aid. As the temperatures get cooler, we’ll look at how much of a burden fuel prices will be to the average Granite Stater this winter.
Guest
- Joanne Morin, director of the New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning
We'll also hear from
- Massood Samii, chairman of the International Business Department and Director of Institute for International Business at Southern New Hampshire University; he also served at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna Austria as a senior economist and the head of the finance section
- Bob Garside, president of the Oil Heat Council of New Hampshire
- Kathleen McCosh, Fuel Assistance Program Manager for the Tri-County Community Action Program
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I am a transplant to NH working as an Americorps VISTA member and trying to live on meager pay. My live in boyfriend is a full time student. Our Apartment is heated by electric heat. I moved in last year in March and the electric bill was $266. We turned off the heat in April!
We shut our hot water heater off when we are not using it, we turn off lights and are aware of our energy usage, but we simply can not keep our bill down in the winter. We called the CAA, we are trying to work with the system, but as a volunteer living with a full time student I just cant keep up.
I always hear about the NH brain drain on this program, but how do you expect young adults to live here when the support systems are clearly not in place for them.
I called the CAA in August and was told they would not even speak with me, let alone make an appointment, until September because I was not disabled or elderly.
When I called back in September the earliest appointment I could get was the end of October... More people need help now then ever, yet the same systems are still in place.
"Global Issues" may exist regarding oil production but independent of that are the huge PROFITS reported by oil companies. The high cost consumers pay is clearly padding the profit margin and NOT addressing production issues.
Starting tomorrow, October 15, UNH Cooperative Extension Info Line will be answering household energy-related questions. New Hampshire residents who are looking to save energy are running into a lot of misinformation and conflicting messages. Energy Answers aims to empower decision-making by connecting callers with ways to improve efficiency and conservation, when to hire a professional and when to move on to renewable energy projects. Energy Answers can connect NH residents with New Hampshire-specific information and experienced energy professionals throughout the state.
Call 1-877-398-4769, Monday - Friday 9 am to 2 pm to talk to one of our trained volunteers or email questions to answers@unh.edu.
Alice Mullen