by KYW's Ian Bush
The oil company Citgo announced on Monday that it is suspending a discount home heating oil program that has for years helped thousands of people in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
(Joe Kennedy, in commercial:) "No one should be left out in the cold."
You've probably seen the commercials:
"I'm Joe Kennedy. Help is on the way. Heating oil at 40 percent off, from our friends in Venezuela and Citgo."
But no more. Kennedy, a former congressman who now heads the nonprofit group Citizens Energy, blames falling oil prices and the global economic downturn:
"It remains unclear how long this postponement, if it is one, will last. All of us at Citizens Energy continue to do everything we can to advocate for a continuation of this vital assistance."
But some can't afford the thousands of dollars it costs to heat their homes each winter. Since the Citgo service began, the Energy Coordinating Agency in Philadelphia says 4,000 people in the city alone were taking advantage of the discount on 200 gallons of oil -- and many more throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
US congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) helped spearhead the program in Philadelphia. Now, he says, he's lobbying the oil giant and the Venezuelan government to keep it going:
"We hope that the company will consider continuing the program, even if there is some slight modification in it."
This season's program was due to begin on Monday. Fattah says families would first exhaust their LIHEAP benefit before getting the Citgo oil, which often came through to provide warmth in the dead of winter.
Fattah says as talks continue, there are a number of other options on the table -- though none would immediately fill the void left by Citgo. He is looking for other oil companies, like Sunoco and Exxon, to use their largesse to help the less fortunate.
And the economic recovery plan that Congress is taking up this month could expand benefits for low-income residents -- though many families who didn't qualify in previous years already are eligible for benefits, thanks to the recent financial rescue package.
In 2008, Congress doubled funding for LIHEAP and raised the income limit to qualify. Now, a family of two making $30,221 or less can apply -- as can a family of four making $44,443 or less. Crisis grants of $800 are available -- that's usually more than one tank's worth of oil.
To sign up, call 866-857-7095 in Pennsylvania (http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/ServicesPrograms/LIHEAP), or 800-510-3102 in New Jersey (http://www.nj.gov/dca/dcr/hea/index.shtml).
In Philadelphia, the Energy Coordinating Agency (http://www.ecasavesenergy.org) offers advice. Call them at 215-988-0929.
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