On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris will outline new initiatives the Biden administration is implementing to aid Americans this winter with their energy expenditures.
The Low-Income Home Energy Aid Program (LIHEAP) will get $4.5 billion in assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help reduce heating costs, according to the White House.
According to a statement from the White House, “the initiative will help families make cost-effective home energy renovations to cut their heating and cooling bills in addition to covering home heating expenditures this winter and outstanding utility bills.”
According to the White House, LIHEAP has provided heating, cooling, and weatherization assistance to 5.3 million households nationwide during the past year.
Additionally, the Inflation Reduction Act will provide $9 billion to the U.S. Department of Energy to assist up to 1.6 million households nationwide in making improvements to their houses that will lower their energy costs. According to the White House, this will be divided into two incentive programs: one for entire home energy efficiency retrofits and another for highly efficient and electric home appliances.
According to a recent analysis by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Energy, bills for electricity and heating oil are expected to increase by 27% and 28%, respectively, this winter compared to last winter. Nearly half of American households rely on natural gas for heating.
Energy prices are anticipated to be the highest this winter in more than ten years, according to a recent report by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, which represents the state directors of LIHEAP. This occurs in the midst of skyrocketing inflation rates, with a 40-year high 6.6% increase in U.S. consumer prices in September.
A number of variables are at action, including a rise in global energy demand following the COVID-19 epidemic, which has caused price hikes, and Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, which has driven up costs and cut supplies.
