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Richard Piatt ReportingThis week Questar Gas announced home heating bills will go up as much as 40-percent this winter. That could make it uncomfortable--both temperature-wise and financially--for a lot of people. And help may be harder to get this year, too.
We've been lucky; it's been relatively warm so far this year. But as the temperature drops, the heating bills will go up, a lot. And there are a lot of people who are feeling downright scared about it.
What concerns people like James Smith of Salt Lake City is, if the heating bill goes up, he'll just get left out in the cold, stuck on a fixed income.
James Smith, Questar Gas customer: "I live on social security so I'm stuck with it. I have no out. Somehow or other we just do without, so I just pay the bill."
But a lot of people may not be able to pay the bill. Worse, some elderly and poor people may leave their heat off to save money, creating a potentially deadly situation. It's a very real situation to a lot of people because federal and state budget cuts may make normally tough-to-get assistance even harder to get.
Laura Polacheck, AARP Utah: "It's definitely not a pot of gold right now, it's more like a roll of nickels for assistance, not a lot."
Governor Huntsman is even at a loss about how to address this potentially huge problem. At his monthly public television news conference he said he has a team of people trying to find ways to create additional avenues to help.
Gov. Huntsman: "The question is how do we close that gap? And right now I have no idea, but Ido have some good minds thinking about it."
Advocates for the poor and elderly are also trying to get the word out to people about what assistance programs do exist. The tough part is that heating help is in competition with funding cuts and hurricane relief efforts at the same time.
There are ways you can get help if you need it. You can call 2-1-1 or apply for help at www.QuestarGas.com.
There is also an opportunity to DONATE to a fund to help people there, too.
