With Heating Costs on the Rise, Wisconsin Counties Already Receiving Calls for Heating Assistance

Thursday, November 17th, 2022 -- 10:00 AM

(By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio) As heating costs are expected to spike this winter, county agencies have received a flood of calls from people seeking assistance to keep energy bills down.

According to Danielle Kaeding with Wisconsin Public Radio, many homeowners are likely to spend more on their heating bills due to higher fuel prices and a slightly colder weather forecast this winter, according to the most recent data from the federal Energy Information Administration.

In the Midwest, the average household that uses natural gas to keep warm is expected to spend around $1,000, up nearly one-third from last winter. Natural gas is used to heat about 65 percent of Wisconsin homes or 1.5 million households.

"We've been getting calls like crazy," said Diane Zettelmeier, acting program manager for Milwaukee County Energy Assistance. In October, Zettelmeier said they reached almost 2,000 calls per day with people calling multiple times to get information.

She expects the volume to taper off somewhat since the state’s winter heating moratorium took effect on Nov. 1. The moratorium prevents utilities from shutting off gas or electric services needed to heat homes.

"People are a little bit more panicked," Zettelmeier said. "I think they're seeing the articles in the news that we can have shortages, that prices are going up. All the other prices are going up, so people don't have as much to spend on other things."

Inflation has been squeezing family budgets from the grocery store to the gas pump. Milwaukee County had already approved more than 10,000 applications for energy assistance as of late last week.

That's more than a quarter of the roughly 36,000 applications for benefits the county paid out last year. In far northern Wisconsin, Bayfield County had processed 378 applications as of Nov. 9, up roughly 39 percent from the same time last year.

That's more than half the 636 households they served last winter. Jessica Soulier, the county's energy assistance worker, said people are applying for benefits earlier than usual.

"The news of the energy increases caused a little bit of a panic in the community, and so people were rushing to get those applications in right away," Soulier said. "But now we're seeing it slow down a little bit. We do expect it to kick back up again as the cold weather hits."

The Wisconsin Division of Energy Housing and Community Resources expected to receive about $100 million for heating and energy assistance this year through the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

That was prior to an additional $17 million that's since been awarded as part of $4.5 billion for energy assistance nationwide. Gov. Tony Evers also announced another $16.6 million for heating and crisis assistance this fall.

State Department of Administration Secretary-designee Kathy Blumenfeld said they expect more than 200,000 households will receive benefits to keep their heating costs down this winter.

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