Oil Tanker   Image by Gerhard Traschütz from Pixabay

July 24, 2026 - Washington, D.C. - The National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), which represents the state directors of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), on Thursday urged Congress to include a $3.0 billion funding anomaly in the FY 2027 Continuing Resolution to help states respond to rapidly rising home heating and electricity costs this winter.

The request represents a $1.0 billion increase over the funding level NEADA requested in its FY 2027 testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies and reflects the sharp rise in crude oil prices since that testimony, from approximately $72 per barrel before the conflict in the Middle East to about $100 per barrel today.

If crude oil prices remain near $100 per barrel, NEADA estimates that the average household heating with oil could see winter heating costs increase from approximately $1,100 last winter to about $1,700 this coming winter.

"Energy markets have changed dramatically in just a few weeks," said Mark Wolfe, Executive Director of NEADA. "When we testified before Congress earlier this year, crude oil was trading at about $72 per barrel. Today it is approximately $100. Unless markets stabilize, millions of households that heat with oil will face substantially higher heating bills this winter."

Wolfe said higher heating oil prices come on top of rapidly rising electricity costs that are already straining household budgets. National residential electricity prices increased approximately 7.6 percent between January and April 2026 after increasing 13 percent between 2023 and 2025. Millions of households are expected to enter the winter heating season already carrying unpaid electric bills from this summer.

NEADA estimates that state LIHEAP programs will require approximately $3.0 billion in additional funding to address higher home heating oil and electricity costs this winter. The additional funding would support households already receiving LIHEAP assistance while also helping newly eligible families expected to seek assistance because of substantially higher home energy costs.

The request comes as the nation's energy affordability crisis continues to deepen. According to the latest federal data, electric utilities disconnected service to more than 13 million households for nonpayment in 2024, while utility arrearages remain above $25 billion. Millions of families are expected to begin the heating season already burdened by unpaid summer electric bills.

"Congress cannot control world energy markets," Wolfe said. "But it can ensure that states have the resources to protect vulnerable households if high heating fuel prices persist. That is precisely why LIHEAP exists."

Source: NEADA