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This story was originally published in the New Hampshire Gazette.

This is what almost everyone who is concerned about the price of heating fuel says about the coming winter, and for good reason. The cost of natural gas and heating oil has skyrocketed. Since most of the electricity in the Northeast is produced by burning natural gas, electricity bills are also rising rapidly.

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Coupled with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's prediction of an unusually cold winter, the result is that New Hampshire residents will spend an expensive winter trying to heat and pay for electricity.

Some households with small change may switch to services such as climate change, which will pay off more quickly given the high energy costs. Others may seek alternative fuels, such as wood or sawdust, to lower bills.

However, low-income people who have spent most of their income on energy will feel the crisis most. According to data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau from late September to mid-October, as costs increase, one-fifth of New Hampshire households have reported that it is difficult to afford daily household expenses.

Higher energy costs are related to inflation and other factors far beyond national borders. Sam Evans-Brown, executive director of the New Hampshire Clean Energy Corporation, a non-profit organization that advocates clean energy, said that because US natural gas producers can obtain higher natural gas prices abroad, they are increasingly sending natural gas. Get there.

Energy prices have also been unusually low in recent years.

"The warning story here is actually that we are overly dependent on a fuel that we think will always be at $2 per million British thermal units. In fact, this is an artificially low price. Now, the false belief that this is the norm is being Gradually disappear," Evans-Brown said.

Evans-Brown is talking about natural gas. More than 20% of homes in New Hampshire use natural gas for heating. According to the US Energy Information Administration, compared with last year, the heating costs of these households may rise by 30%.

For the two-fifths of households in New Hampshire that use fuel oil (the state’s most common type of heating system) for heating, expenditures are expected to increase by 43%.

"Nowhere in the United States is as dependent on heating oil as New England. This means that these price fluctuations are really unbearable," Evans-Brown said.

However, neither natural gas nor fuel oil is expected to experience the largest price increases. The 17% of homes in New Hampshire that use propane for heating are expected to increase by 54%. About 10% of the state uses electricity for heating, and the remaining 9% uses other heat sources.

For Evans-Brown, fluctuations in the price of imported fossil fuels are another reason to lock in fuels that do not change significantly over time: the sun's rays, the wind that passes through the atmosphere.

But while strengthening renewable energy can prevent this from happening in the future—as Evans-Brown believes—it is also frustrating to see that policies that can help families are now suspended. This is exactly what happened in the state's energy efficiency program.

Eric Chabot witnessed this with his own eyes. Chabot is an energy auditor for Turn Cycle Solutions, and he said that approximately 95% of his business comes from the state's energy efficiency program, New Hampshire Saves. The plan provides incentives to reduce the cost of energy efficiency measures, but has been in a state of uncertainty since the beginning of this year when the 3-year plan was supposed to take effect, but failed to take effect to approve it due to the failure of the Public Utilities Commission.

Chabot found the state capitol talks frustrating because he believes that legislators who oppose increased energy efficiency spending — through so-called system welfare fee funding — are putting the interests of the state’s largest corporations above the typical granite state. For them, health and health are in the balance.

For Chabot, the best part of work is seeing people become more comfortable at home. "This has a huge impact on how people use their homes and lives," he said during an energy audit of a Milford house recently purchased by one of his colleagues.

Weathering the house is one thing that residents can reduce heating costs and keep the house warm. And this-and the desire to reduce fuel use for the sake of human health and the environment-is usually the reason people come into contact with Chabot.

When energy auditors enter a home, they are looking for evidence of who came before them and what they did to make the house warmer. Michael Turcotte, owner of Turn Cycle Solutions, said that in a 1752 house, he even found the walls filled with old corn cobs and newspapers as insulation. Turcott said a typical project in the New Hampshire Savings Plan would cost about $4,000. The owner usually pays about $2,000, and the return on investment takes about 15 months. But if energy prices double, the return on investment may only take 7 months, he said.

When Chabot conducted an energy audit of a home, he tried to figure out how "leak" it was — where did the cold air come in — and what he could do to improve efficiency. He started at the top of the house and went all the way down. Finally, there is a test called a blower door. In this test, a powerful fan blows air out of the house to find where cold air enters the house.

"Of course I have seen a worse situation, but it can be improved," he said of the Milford house.

Although the state has suspended plans to improve energy efficiency, a fuel assistance program is receiving $35 million in additional funding from the Federal U.S. Relief Program Act. Individuals who are struggling to pay their bills can apply for grants to offset the cost of any type of fuel they use to heat their homes. On Friday, the state finance committee voted unanimously to approve the money. Last year, the program served 25,000 households. The Department of Energy estimates that its typical budget is about 25 to 28 million U.S. dollars, so it will more than double this year.

Eligibility for the program depends on income and family size; for a family of four, the program is open to people with an annual income of less than US$69,686. The plan usually pays about US$889, but depending on family size, income, energy costs, and housing type, the amount may be between US$158 and US$1,575. Those interested in registering can apply through local community action agencies.

The state's utility companies are also worried about the huge bills they will send and the impact on the residents of the state. Both Liberty and Unitil said they are considering how to connect customers who cannot pay their bills with assistance programs.

"Liberty is very worried about the increase in natural gas prices across the country because it may cause financial difficulties for some of our customers. The prices of all forms of energy are rising this year, including electricity and propane," the company spokesperson said in a written statement Means in.

Unitil, another electricity and gas utility in the state, called it a global supply crisis. Alec O'Meara, a spokesperson for Unitil, said the company will provide flexible payment plans and guide customers who are struggling to pay to participate in the statewide community action plan.

Liberty also said that customers can take some measures to "help reduce the burden of rising natural gas costs." They have a budget billing plan that allows customers to split payments within a year to smooth out seasonal fluctuations in monthly gas bills. They provide payment arrangements for those with overdue balances, and provide gas discounts for families participating in at least one eligible assistance program.

When energy prices for oil and gas rise, Scott Nichols said he often sees people turning to alternatives such as wood. Nichols owns Tarm Biomass, a company that sells various wood boilers.

"The biggest drivers of our sales are high oil and natural gas prices," Nichols said, even though he recently received fewer calls than he expected.

Of the $6 billion that New Hampshire spends on energy each year, most of it leaves the state because it is spent on fossil fuels that it does not produce. Neighboring states such as Vermont provide incentives for residents to switch to locally grown wood, partly because of the economic benefits of the local economy.

Nichols said: "Even places that have been using existing pellet or chip boilers to save money can save a lot of money in a year like this." "Suddenly, their return on investment may suddenly change. 10 years was reduced to two years."

The New Hampshire Bulletin is part of the States Newsroom, a network of news organizations supported by the Alliance of Grants and Donors, and is a 501c(3) public charity. The New Hampshire Bulletin maintains editorial independence. If you have any questions, please contact the editor Dana Wormald: info@newhampshirebulletin.com. Follow the New Hampshire Gazette on Facebook and Twitter.