In spite of increases in government funding for programs to help needy families pay their home heating bills, and the mild weather, many low-income residents in the District are still struggling to make their payments. And across the country the stress from heating costs is even worse.

According to a December study by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI)—an affiliate of the national organization Center on Budget and Policy Priorities—home heating costs will be up by 33% from last year in the D.C. area, largely because of supply disruptions caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The federal and local heating assistance programs are not serving all the people who need it, said Angie Rodgers, a DCFPI analyst who co-authored the study.

Keith Anderson, the chief of the energy assistance division in the D.C. Energy Office, said about 22,000 of the 58,000 eligible households in the District received assistance under the program in FY 2005. Although that figure may seem low, Anderson said the percentage is among the highest in the United States.

In the first quarter of FY 2006 (October-December 2005), requests for aid under the program increased 27% from the same period the year before, he said. The D.C. government program supplements the federal funding provided by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which gives aid for heating in the winter and for air conditioning in the summer.

Funding for D.C. in FY 2006 is about $12-million, which is about $2-million above last year's level, Anderson said. The city is using the increase to raise the average benefit by about 30%, to counteract the cost increases, he said. Under that approach, he said, D.C. will "maintain" the base number of families receiving assistance and perhaps increase it.

The relatively warm weather so far this winter has not helped families that much, Rodgers said. In part that is because families are somewhat more likely to have their heat turned off by the utility companies if the weather is warmer. Anderson confirmed that this year there has been a "slight increase" in requests for emergency assistance, an additional form of aid that the energy office provides to residents whose heat has been turned off.

The District at one time provide a third kind of aid--one-time assistance to offset a high bill--and should do so again, said Nechama Masliansky, the director of advocacy and social justice for So Others Might Eat (SOME). Many District residents have to carry out a "juggling act" to pay their rent and their food, heating, and medical bills, she said.

In a recent report, the Fair Budget Coalition, a group that includes SOME and about 50 other D.C.-based organizations, called for restoration of the "eviction prevention/emergency assistance" program, which was terminated in 1996.

On the national scene, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has made news by providing heating oil and financial assistance --through Citgo Petroleum Corp., which is owned by Venezuela's state oil company--to cities and states in the northeastern United States. Citgo signed agreements with Massachusetts and the Bronx borough of New York City late last year. An agreement with Maine was signed January 12.

In the Maine deal, Citgo is selling 8 million gallons on the open market and will donate the equivalent of 40% of the spot market price. According to the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, the assistance will total about $5.5-million and provide $100 in additional benefits to Maine LIHEAP recipients.

The Maine package also includes 120,000 gallons of heating oil for 40 homeless shelters and 900,000 gallons for four Native American tribes.

Rhode Island signed an agreement January 13. According to the Venezuelan embassy, "Discussions for further expansion of the program are underway in several other states, including Delaware, Vermont, Connecticut and Pennsylvania."

Washington apparently is not being considered for addition to the list. To have a substantial impact on the District, the aid would probably have to be in the form of financial assistance rather than heating oil. According to Rodgers, only about 150 of the requests in the District for assistance in the first quarter of FY 2006 were from homes with oil heat, while there were 8,000 requests from gas-heated homes and 2,600 from homes with electric heat.

Small-town America, too, is noticing the crunch and taking action. The Grange, a national membership group advocating for rural America, is reporting new attention to the rising cost of heating a home. Nearly half the organization's approximately 3,000 chapters are staging special fundraising activities this winter for a variety of needs, and most of those include money to help people pay their heating bills. That's a "significant increase" in fuel assistance fundraising, said Grange spokesperson Shaletta Espie.

Anderson said District residents who want to apply for assistance in paying their heating bills can call 202-673-6750. People whose heat has been cut off do not need to schedule an appointment and can come directly to his office, which is in the Reeves Center at 2000 14th Street, NW, Suite 300E, he said.

The office will supply heaters and blankets to residents whose gas or oil heat has been cut off, Anderson said. If they had electric heat that was shut off they, will get a lantern, flashlight, and blankets.