Organizations that rely on government aid to help pay for low-income residents' heat during the winter say the dramatic rate hikes utilities are planning could leave people in the cold.
Liz Berube, assistant director of Citizens for Citizens in Fall River, called National Grid's plan to hike rates by 37 percent "the worst news of the day."
"We're just hoping and praying the most vulnerable people — the elderly and the disabled — don't choose not to eat or fill a prescription just to cover their bill," said Berube, most of whose clients use National Grid.
Of the 17,000 people Citizens for Citizens helped with fuel last winter with the $9 million it received in federal aid and the $1 million it received from the state, she said, more than 4,000 people already have applied for help so far this year, roughly a 33 percent increase over the number of applications received by this time last year.
Action for Boston Community Development — about 60 percent of whose clients are NStar customers and the rest of whom rely primarily on oil for heat — has received more than 10,000 applications as of yesterday, about half the total number received last year, said President and CEO John J. Drew.
Since NStar has warned customers to brace for a rate increase, Drew worries that if ABCD receives about $2 million from the state and $10 million in federal aid, as it did last year, the benefits his clients will receive could be less.
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