Saturday | November 13th, 2021

It’s Saturday, November 13th, and this is your Morning Wire. Listen to the full podcast:

1) Winter Heating Bills Expected To Skyrocket

The Topline:  As winter approaches, a new report from the Department of Energy says heating bills for the vast majority of Americans are about to skyrocket in the coming months. 

Quote Of The Day: “This is going to happen. It will be more expensive this year than last year.”

– Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm 

Tetra Images via Getty Images

Rising Prices

The Department of Energy’s Winter Fuels Outlook predicts families who rely primarily on natural gas — about half of American households — will see prices go up around 30% compared to last winter. 

For those relying on electricity for heating, prices will be up 6% to 15%, and for those relying on propane and heating oil, prices are expected to rise around 50% compared to last winter. 

The spike is predicted to hit rural and low-income communities the worst, as those are the communities most likely to rely on heating oil and propane. From a regional standpoint, the south and west will be slightly better off, due to warmer expected temperatures, but the midwest and northeast are going to be hit especially hard. 

Reasons

Inflation is playing a role. This year, wholesale prices on all products rose 8.6% on average compared to last year. 

For the last two years, energy companies have also seen their profits drop as global demand for oil and natural gas went down during lockdowns. Even though demand is high right now, as the economy has opened back up, they’re hesitant to flood the market with too much oil and gas, because the price will go down.

Government Response

Senators Susan Collins of Maine (R) and Jack Reed of Rhode Island (D) sent a letter to the White House urging them to provide relief for the energy market. 

Last week, the Biden Administration allocated over $3 billion in funds through the Low Income Energy Assistance Program, which will be given to a few million households throughout the winter to help subsidize their energy costs. They’re expediting the process this year because of the emergency circumstances. 

Lawmakers are also discussing adding $5 billion to the Democrats’ looming Social Spending Bill to offer more help for covering energy costs. 

Democrats say this is the best way to help people, and that heating is an essential

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