Energy costs have been a source of significant pain for Americans who are dealing with the fastest inflation in 40 years, the New York Times reported. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put a strain on global energy supplies, pushing up fuel prices. And while people can choose a cheaper protein at the grocery store or repair a vehicle instead of replacing it, there is often only one choice when heating a home. “You can’t switch the way you heat your home based on fuel prices,” said Mark Wolfe, the executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, which projects that heating costs will rise 12.3 percent this year — even faster than overall inflation. For natural gas, the country’s most common heating source, the association expects an increase of more than 20 percent, to $856 for the heating season, from $709 a year ago. In recent years, the Home Energy Assistance Program has received an annual appropriation of almost $4 billion. The American Rescue Plan, a big pandemic relief package in 2021, provided an extra $4.5 billion. But help on that scale appears unlikely to be repeated. The House and Senate appropriations committees have approved funds akin to the prepandemic allocation for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. In early August, 58 members of Congress signed a letter urging the committees to increase the funding.
