Recently in Heating Fuel Assistance Category
Note from the MCA: We applaud this effort by Meredith. You may ask why not have a similar effort in Moultonboro? Well. citizens have suggested to the Selectmen to form such a committee and offered to volunteer. The answer........still waiting. We guess that only a crisis will force action.
MCA
The Meredith News September 25th, 2008
SARAH SCHMIDT
MEREDITH — The Town of Meredith is looking into the possibility of forming a voluntary energy committee to explore methods that would save energy and improve efficiency. Bill Bayard of the Capital Improvements Committee requested that the selectmen consider the establishment of such a committee. The Town of
address climate change. Among the actions in the article, residents asked selectmen “to consider the appointment of a voluntary energy committee to recommend local steps to save energy and reduce emissions” in a vote of 127-96. “There is quite a bit of activity on the regional side,” said Bayard, referring to residents active in regional energy meetings. “The state is very active in updating their energy plan, and there’s a lot of overlap. I assume whoever is elected (to the Presidency) will be active in energy policy.” Bayard told the board that residents and a few members of Town staff were already involved in a number of dif-ferent ways of looking at energy use in the town. A committee could investigate energy analyses of each town facility, introduce anti-idling policies, and look at the town’s carbon footprint.,While noting that the,price of fuel had been coming down as of late, Bayard said that it was far more expensive than at this time last year. An energy committee could start looking at economies in saving fuel, he said. “There is a variety of different ways of doing things, some fairly inexpensive,” said Bayard. “I believe this will pay back pretty quickly - there are a lot of opportunities to save on energy.” Community Development Director John Edgar noted that with the Master Plan and census coming up in a few years, energy would likely be a new element in the plan itself. Edgar noted that both he and Town Planner Angela LaBreque served on about six different committees, but still believed that this would be an important one for their input. “Is this important enough for us to tag team?” asked Edgar. “The answer is clearly yes. There would be a staff component.” Bayard said that Meredith likely had a lot of varied expertise among its residents, and encouraged selectmen to begin advertising for volunteers for the committee. Selectman Bob Flanders said that the idea was a good one, but that the first action should be a charter to establish ground rules. He suggested that Edgar and Bayard come up with a draft charge to present to the selectmen. Moving along from energy conservation to energy demand,
By JOHN DISTASO
Senior Political Reporter
Umion Leader Thursday, Jul. 17, 2008
The state received a total of $25 million in LIHEAP funding last winter, and, “Essentially New Hampshire funding would double under this bill. Instead of receiving the $25 million, it would receive more than $50 million,” said Gregg spokesman Laena Fallon. Gregg said his bill doubles funding for the Low Income Energy Assistance Program “in a fiscally responsible manner.” It would offset the $2.5 billion overall cost by repealing a provision that allows major oil companies to take deductions for “domestic production activities.” The tax break was enacted in 2004. Oil company executives told Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., during a Senate commerce committee hearing in November 2005 that once oil tops $55 a barrel, they do not need federal incentives for oil and gas exploration. Gregg said, “Low-income individuals families and seniors should not be forced to choose between keeping their homes warm this winter and other basic necessities such as food and medicine. It is high time for Congress to take action to ensure that these critical funds are available for states to distribute when they are needed.” But Gregg also said the increase "must be done in a fiscally responsible manner." Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., an original co-sponsor of the Gregg bill, also said that “it is critical for Congress to address this issue now.”
Both senators co-sponsored a bill by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to provide the same amount of additional funding but without the repeal of the oil industry tax break to pay for it. Fallon said Sanders’ bill would add to the federal deficit. A spokesman for Gov. John Lynch said all
|
By GAIL OBER |
The Citizen Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Belmont General Assistance Director Director Donna Cilley looked around at her peers and put it all on the table. It's not even August and her community has already overspent its heating assistance budget allocation by $6,400. "We're seeing more seniors, more in the middle class," she said. "It's pretty scary. Individuals that would never, ever speak out are coming to us for help." Cilley and her community are not alone. As the cost of heating oil tops the $5-per-gallon mark and many Lakes Region residents wonder how they'll heat their homes this winter, state Sen. Kathy Sgambati brought Cilley and other state and local officials together Monday at the Lakes Region Community College in Laconia."It's the larger community that needs to come together and help each other," said Sgambati who said her office has been reaching out to first responders, shelters, preparedness workers, and other agencies to assess their needs and see if there are adequate resources. While there are a variety of heating assistance programs available to
These programs are jointly administered and funded by the electric and utility companies and are administered by Community Action Programs or individually with CAP assistance and provided $36.7 million in assistance to
The Citizen July 12th, 2008
Editorial
Few issues are as important to residents of
|
| |
|
|
Increased Federal LIHEAP Commitment Needed to Avert Winter Fuel Crisis for |
|
|
Office of the Governor Press Release July 9th, 2008 |
|
|
“The rising cost of fuel and a continuing national economic downturn is having an impact on hard-working families in “That is why we need to stand together, and send a strong message to Last year, $25 million in LIHEAP assistance was distributed to 33,000 homes in “But that $50 million does not take into account far greater out-of-pocket costs to cover the non-LIHEAP portion of their heating bills. We are not talking about a small increase in additional costs, we are talking about thousands of dollars in additional costs for families already struggling to pay their bills,” Gov. Lynch said. In addition to additional LIHEAP funding, the Governors discussed a number of other common energy issues including the development of renewable energy, the promotion of energy efficiency and expanding transmission capacity. “Increasing renewable energy will create jobs right in Gov. Lynch and the other New England Governors agreed to work collaboratively at strategies for upgrading the transmission infrastructure of the region. “We have multiple renewable facilities interested in sighting projects in
|
