13 December 2021
Winter officially arrives on December 20 and Americans should expect to spend more to heat their homes than last year.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts home heating costs will go up because fuel prices are rising, and demand has increased over the previous winter. The good news is that recovery since the depths of the COVID-19 economic decline is driving the trend. But it still won’t help households struggling to make ends meet cope with a jump in heating costs.
It’s another reminder that, especially during periods where all sources of energy are seeing price increases, energy diversity in the marketplace is the best strategy for consumer choice, safety, and cost control.
Federal officials say homes that heat with natural gas will pay as much as 30 percent more this winter – with an average cost of $746 to make it through the cold months. But households using all fuels are expected to see increases. While electric heat is expected to increase at a more modest rate—the cost of electricity already leaves many families little wiggle room in their budgets. The Energy Information Administration says homes that rely on electric heat will spend a whopping $1,268 on their electricity bills during the winter season.
Homes that rely on heating oil, meanwhile, will pay about 43 percent more this winter. And propane fuel users will pay more than 1.5 times what they did last year to heat their homes, according to the EIA.
“Tough winters and challenging economic cycles really demonstrate how important it is for consumers to have access to clean, safe natural gas and all other sources of fuel,” says Karen Arpino, Executive Director of the Northeast Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association. “There is a role for all sources of energy in providing consumer choices and real diversity in the types of fuel that are available.”
Advocates who are pushing to limit access to natural gas and other fuels while at the same time promoting all-electric homes do not have the best interests of the American household in mind.
“Imagine how much higher costs would be this winter if our energy choices were drastically limited? New natural gas furnaces are more than 90 percent efficient and 16 times less expensive than electric heating,” Arpino says. “All-electric homes are also less reliable and less safe during major weather events and natural disasters.”
NEHPBA is part of a coalition of organizations, individuals and industry groups fighting natural gas bans and working every day to preserve true energy diversity. The association represents nearly 300 member companies – mostly individual retailers and service providers – that sell, install and service wood-fuel systems and provide expertise to consumers on primary and secondary home heating strategies .
“Americans have been through a lot over the past two years, and new challenges continue to emerge every day,” Arpino says. “Threatening to remove a family’s choice in how to meet a basic human need is outrageous. Our members will be there for their customers this winter, helping them get through it and make the most of their heating systems at a time of increased costs. And we will be there with them every day – fighting to maintain consumer choice and energy diversity.”
3 December 2021
The Vermont Climate Council passed an Action Plan on Wednesday by a vote of 19-4. The 273-page plan is part of the Vermont Global Warming Solutions Act which requires greenhouse gas emissions drop 26% by 2025 and 40% by the end of the decade. These are not goals, these are mandates and failure to meet these mandates is a violation of the Global Warming Solutions Act.
The thermal strategy is to ensure buildings use less energy while heating with more electricity. This means that 90,000 homes will need to be weatherized by the end of the decade-an increase of about 200%. The plan also requires a new “net zero” building code for new construction, efficiency standards for rental properties, and electric-only water heaters with modular demand response communication so the UTILITY companies can remotely control the water temperature. Also included in the plan is the creation of a Clean Heat Standard to incentivize heating companies to reduce their customer’s carbon emissions. Selling renewable liquid fuels, pellet stoves, and heat pumps would generate credits that fossil fuel wholesalers would be required to purchase.
As far as transportation goes, the plan uses incentives, taxes, and regulations to "persuade" Vermonters to buy and drive electric cars. By 2030, in order to meet the emission reduction mandates, 170,000 electric vehicles will need to replace gas-run vehicles. This is an increase of nearly 4000%. The plan allows for this by banning the sale of new combustion engine vehicles by 2035, giving cash incentives for electric vehicles and more fees to those who drive vehicles powered by gasoline and diesel. Additionally, even though MA, RI and CT have abandoned the Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI), VT has not. The plan calls on lawmakers to pass legislation that would allow the state to join the cap and trade program if it comes to fruition.
Governor Scott’s Administration released a signed statement disagreeing with many aspects of the plan. In the statement, Governor Scott said he “cannot support proposals which impose a fiscal commitment beyond the means of most Vermonters.” The electric stoves, cars, and heating systems that must be purchased in order to comply with the Global Warming Solution Act represent billions of dollars of new purchases. The Vermont legislature will pick up where the Climate Council left off in determining who pays the bill. The Legislature will start that process in January. NEHPBA will keep you updated!
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