Congress is cool to Trump's proposal to end heating aid
Guidelines for winter shutoffs by utilities vary from state to state and don't apply to heating oil, a key energy source in the brittle New England winter.
Forty-three senators from mostly cold-weather states already signed a letter urging the Republican chairman and ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee to ensure funding for the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program, known in many states by its acronym, LIHEAP (pronounced LY'-heep).
[...] there's absolutely no requirement for heating oil and propane dealers, which are not regulated like electric and natural gas utilities, to make deliveries to customers who cannot pay.
Health and Human Services Secretary Thomas Price, who contends the LIHEAP program doesn't demonstrate "strong performance outcomes," said difficult decisions are necessary to streamline the government to focus on the administration's goals of defense and public safety.
Nationwide, the average home heating cost last winter was $1,448 for propane, $1,227 for heating oil, $902 for electricity and $577 for natural gas.