Iran war drives U.S. winter heating bills up 7%, with heating-oil homes facing 70% jumps, energy directors warn

Iran war drives U.S. winter heating bills up 7%, with heating-oil homes facing 70% jumps, energy directors warn.

American households should expect to pay more than 7% more on average to heat their homes this winter, and families who rely on heating oil could see their bills jump by as much as 70%, according to a new report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), The Guardian and The New York Times reported Wednesday.

NEADA, which represents the state officials who run federal energy assistance programs, blamed disruptions tied to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. Supplies have tightened as refineries in the Middle East and Russia shut down or cut output, and The New York Times reported that the Iran war has sharply reduced the supply of heating oil.

The hardest hit will be the nearly 5 million households that burn heating oil, concentrated in the Northeast and Alaska, whose seasonal costs could climb to about $2,977. Average bills in the Northeast are projected to rise 16.9%, from $1,311 last winter to $1,532. Electric heating costs are expected to rise about 6%, to $1,215, and propane about 5%, to $1,350.

"For low- and middle-income families, they can be devastating," NEADA executive director Mark Wolfe said of the increases. He said it was prudent to assume heating oil prices will stay elevated all winter given volatility in the Strait of Hormuz.

The squeeze lands on families already behind. NEADA estimates about one in six U.S. households are behind on utility payments, owing about $23 billion in total. Over the summer, utilities cut power to 173,598 households across 10 states in July alone, the hottest month on record in the U.S.

The group is calling on Congress to provide relief before the higher winter bills arrive. "Energy is not a luxury," Wolfe said.