December 8, 2007 (LPAC)--Yesterday morning, Jerry McKim, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) director for the state of Iowa, warned, during a press conference at the National Press Club, that high energy prices have a public health dimension when they impact low-income households. He reported that, in Iowa, 18,000 households began the winter with no heating service, because of service cutoffs and unpaid bills. People living in such circumstances will resort to unsafe methods of heating and lighting their homes; in Iowa, this has already meant several deaths from the use of candles. "All of the consequences of unaffordable energy have a cost," McKim said, "and I believe that cost far exceeds any investment by Federal, state, or local governments to address energy affordability."

The National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) is calling on Congress to add $1 billion in supplemental funding for LIHEAP, because of a funding squeeze caused by high energy costs. Most states are reacting to the squeeze by either reducing the size of the average LIHEAP grant, or reducing the number of households which will receive assistance this winter. Without additional funding, the states estimate that the number of households served will decline by about 15%, in spite of the increased need.

While LIHEAP has been under stress for a number of years because of rising energy costs and insufficient or late Congressional appropriations, this year the subprime crisis has added a new stress. According to NEADA executive director Mark Wolfe, these predatory-type loans have greatly increased the burden on low-income families that got into them, making high energy prices even more of a burden for them. He cited California, Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Nevada as states where this is a serious problem.