Heating oil hits a record $6.23 a gallon as winter starts. What it means for Boston households and the city's own fuel budget

Massachusetts households that heat with oil face the most expensive winter on record. The state average was $6.23 a gallon in late October, nearly 73% higher than a year earlier, WBUR reported Monday. The federal Energy Information Administration expects oil-heated homes to spend just over $2,100 this winter, up 21%.

For Boston residents who heat with oil, a single fill can now cost hundreds of dollars more than last winter. Higher fuel prices also raise what the city itself pays to run vehicles and heat buildings. Here is what the coverage says about help for residents, and what City Hall's own records show.

Help for households

From WBUR's reporting:

• Federal aid is flat. Massachusetts has received $142 million in federal heating assistance so far this season, with more expected. Last year it got $163 million and helped 156,000 households. Congress has not passed a new appropriations bill.
• State aid is up. Gov. Maura Healey added $15 million in state money to the Home Energy Assistance Program and created a $34 million benefit for middle-income households that heat with oil, expected to help about 50,000 households that did not qualify before. "Everybody is getting hurt by what this war is costing us," Healey said.
• Demand is up. First-time applications for heating help are up 53% from last year, and the state has received 16,000 applications for the new middle-income program.
• In Boston, Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) is one of the nonprofit agencies that distribute state heating aid, according to WBUR. Its director of energy services told WBUR that "the need is so great."

The head of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association told WBUR he expects states to run out of heating assistance money faster than usual.

What our records add

The council asked about this last winter. At a Feb. 26 Human Services Committee hearing, Council President Liz Breadon asked whether the city was looking at ways to help residents with fuel assistance after "a long and very cold winter" (watch at 56:51). A city official working with older residents answered that the city helps seniors gather the documents ABCD requires and enrolls them in utility shutoff protection. The official also said that "fuel assistance only takes you so far," and that for oil it covered "only about a tank" (watch at 57:18).

The city's own fuel bill. Boston buys oil and fuel for police and fire vehicles, Public Works trucks, parks, libraries and school buildings. On May 20 the council voted 11-0 to let the city sign fuel contracts, including No. 2 heating oil, for up to five years. Longer contracts let the city lock in prices when markets are favorable, City Councilor Ed Flynn, who chairs the City Services Committee, told the council (docket 0919; watch at 3:45:38).

Already running hot. The administration's first-quarter budget report, filed for Wednesday's council meeting, says 69% of the city's gasoline and diesel budgets were committed by the end of September because of high prices, and that utility spending is at "high risk" of exceeding its budget (docket 2094; our story). Money spent over budget in one line has to be found in another.

El Niño. City Councilor Henry Santana has filed for a hearing on winter preparedness for this year's El Niño, which his order says is expected to bring a warmer, wetter winter (docket 2098). It is on Wednesday's agenda.

What's next

• For residents: Apply for heating help through ABCD or the state's Home Energy Assistance Program. Utility customers behind on bills can ask about shutoff protections.
• At City Hall: The council meets Wednesday at noon (agenda). Quarterly budget reports are usually placed on file. The next one is due in January.