NEADA projects that national average cost of home heating will increase from $783 in 2017 to $861 this winter. This is the highest price since 2014-15 when prices bottomed out at $725 for the cost of home heating.
Est. Home Heating Costs
(2009-10 to 2017-18)
| Winter Heating Season | Natural Gas | Electricity | Heating Oil | Propane | All Fuels |
| 2009-10 | $698 | $873 | $1,552 | $1,642 | $863 |
| 2010-11 | $680 | $885 | $1,966 | $1,845 | $893 |
| 2011-12 | $571 | $843 | $1,757 | $1,587 | $795 |
| 2012-13 | $607 | $895 | $2,113 | $1,536 | $849 |
| 2013-14 | $677 | $956 | $2,353 | $2,378 | $965 |
| 2014-15 | $641 | $960 | $1,852 | $1,756 | $885 |
| 2015-16 | $519 | $896 | $993 | $1,181 | $725 |
| 2016-17 | $575 | $906 | $1,248 | $1,423 | $783 |
| 2017-18 | $634 | $965 | $1,506 | $1,676 | $861 |
| % Change 2016-17 to 2017-18 |
10.3% | 6.5% | 20.7% | 17.8% | 9.9% |
By fuel type, increases are as follows, propane from $1,423 to $1,676, heating oil from $1248 to
$1,506, natural gas from $575 to $634 and electricity $906 to $965.
Est. Average % of Home Heating Purchased with LIHEAP
(FY 10- FY 18)
| Fiscal Year | Natural Gas | Electricity | Heating Oil | Propane | All Fuels |
| 2010 | 81.4% | 65.1% | 36.6% | 34.6% | 65.9% |
| 2011 | 82.3% | 63.3% | 28.5% | 30.3% | 62.7% |
| 2012 | 82.9% | 56.1% | 26.9% | 29.8% | 59.5% |
| 2013 | 74.4% | 50.5% | 21.4% | 29.4% | 53.2% |
| 2014 | 66.9% | 47.4% | 19.2% | 19.0% | 46.9% |
| 2015 | 69.9% | 46.7% | 24.2% | 25.5% | 50.6% |
| 2016 | 86.4% | 50.0% | 45.2% | 38.0% | 61.8% |
| 2017 | 78.0% | 49.5% | 35.9% | 32.2% | 57.2% |
| 2018 | 70.7% | 46.5% | 29.8% | 27.3% | 52.1% |
The current program appropriation for LIHEAP provides no automatic additional funding when
prices increase reducing the program’s purchasing power. Price increases this winter will
effectively reduce the program’s purchasing power by $330 million. As a result, the program
will only be able to cover 52% of the cost of home heating down from 57.2% in 2016-17 and
61% in 2015-16.
Est. Households Served & Average Grant (FY 10- FY 18)
| Appropriation | Households | Average | |
| Fiscal Year | (in thousands) | (in thousands) | Grant |
| 2010 | $5,100,000 | 7,361 | $568 |
| 2011 | $4,700,000 | 6,884 | $560 |
| 2012 | $3,471,672 | 6,016 | $473 |
| 2013 | $3,255,436 | 5,910 | $452 |
| 2014 | $3,424,436 | 6,200 | $453 |
| 2015 | $3,390,000 | 6,200 | $448 |
| 2016 | $3,390,000 | 6,071 | $458 |
| 2017 | $3,390,000 | 6,071 | $458 |
| 2018 (House/Senate) | $3,390,000 | 6,071 | $458 |
Note: Households #’s for FY 2017 are based on FY 2016 reports and state surveys
Source: Prices based on December 2017 Short Term Energy Outlook, Energy Information Adm & State LIHEAP Surveys