Henry and Holly Johnson of Greensburg did what they could during the cold days of December to keep their heating bill manageable, to a degree that others might not find comfortable.

“We keep the (thermostat) temperature at 67 degrees,” Henry Johnson said. And if family and friends visiting over the holidays complained about the chilly atmosphere, he offered them a solution: “Wear a hoodie.”

The Johnsons, who have a gas furnace for most of their heat and electric baseboard heat in a third-floor bedroom, still saw their heating bills increase by $75 to $100 in December compared to a year ago, said Holly Johnson, who wears a long-sleeved shirt in the winter to keep warm in her home.

More Western Pennsylvanians like the Greensburg couple have been hit by high heating bills this winter — caused in part by the Arctic blast around the Christmas holiday.

A lot of those utility customers are seeking help through their utilities or energy assistance programs, as seen by the dramatic jump in the number of grants the Dollar Energy Fund Pennsylvania Hardship Program has distributed this month — a 265% increase for this January compared with the same period last year, said Jody Robertson, a spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh-based fund.

So far this year, the Dollar Energy Fund has distributed 182 grants totaling $53,500, compared to only 50 grants totaling $15,000 for the same period last year, Robertson said.

And it’s not just the bitter cold snap around the Christmas holiday at the root of the higher heating bills. The region’s average temperature in December was 33 degrees, slightly lower than a typical December, said Shannon Heffran, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Moon. The average temperature for the first 30 days of January reached 37.3 degrees, almost nine degrees higher than the normal average temperature and the warmest since 2006, Heffran said.

“There are so many different reasons for people needing assistance — it could be repairs at their home, their employment situation and the temperatures,” Robertson said.

Natural gas prices spiked because of extremely hot weather and the ongoing war in Ukraine, Peoples Natural Gas said. Natural gas is in more demand as a source for creating electrical power because 38% of the nation’s electricity in 2021 was produced by gas-fueled power plants, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Since Oct. 1, the fund has seen a 90% increase in grants distributed when compared with the same time last year across the state, she added.

The demand for assistance comes at a time when the cost of the natural gas delivered to customers has increased over the past year, regardless of usage.

Columbia Gas said its price per therm to deliver 100 cubic feet of natural gas, which is one-tenth of a thousand cubic feet or MCF — rose from 36.1 cents per therm in December 2021 to 74.5 cents in December 2022, then dropped to 64 cents per therm for the first quarter of this year. Columbia Gas’ rate hike, approved by the Public Utility Commission, went into effect Dec. 17, about week before the bitter cold temperatures.

Peoples Gas said its price per MCF to deliver the natural gas jumped from $4.48 in December 2021 to $4.88 per MCF in December 2022, then fell to $4.72 per MCF in January. The cost of purchasing the gas, transporting it, storing it and delivering it rose to $14.47 per MCF in December 2022, compared to $10.79 per MCF in December 2021. It fell again in January to $12.95 per MCF.

The utilities are required by the PUC to pass through to customers the actual cost of the natural gas the companies purchase on the wholesale market.

The increase in demand for financial assistance may be tied to the income level of the utility customers. About 10% of the residential customers of West Penn Power Co. and Duquesne Light Co. are low income, according to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s 2021 Universal Service & Collections Performance report.

About 17% of the residential customers of Peoples Natural Gas Co. and Columbia Gas are low income, according to the report.

“The covid crisis, compounded by a softening economy and a backdrop of high inflation, has definitely caused some financial hardships for our customers — some of whom probably have never had to seek bill assistance before. Fortunately, there is help and hope available,” said Todd Meyers, a spokesman for Greensburg-based West Penn Power Co., a FirstEnergy Corp. company.

Even if homeowners have gas or another source of heat rather than electric, many furnaces use electric blower motors to circulate hot air throughout the home.

“Families being at home for the holidays had furnaces on overtime, operating virtually nonstop for days,” Meyers noted.

Peoples Natural Gas typically sees an increase in requests for assistance in January, said Rita Black, director of Peoples’ community assistance programs. The number of people seeking assistance this year is about the same as in previous Januaries, she said, but she anticipates an increase in the number of those seeking aid in the coming winter months.

A spokesperson for the state’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which also helps income-eligible customers with their heating bills, could not be reached for comment. That program distributes federal funds to income-eligible customers to help pay their heating bill — as much as $300.

All four major distribution utilities for home heating in Western Pennsylvania — West Penn Power, Duquesne Light Co., Peoples Natural Gas and Columbia Gas — said the first step customers should take in getting assistance is to contact their utility.

The customer assistance programs offered by the four utilities aided about 114,200 residential customers a month in 2021, up from a monthly average of 94,235 in the pre-covid year of 2019, according to their reports to the PUC. West Penn Power and Duquesne Light averaged about 58,000 residential customers a month receiving the assistance, while Columbia Gas and Peoples averaged about 56,200 in 2021.

Duquesne Light said it assisted residential customers in securing more than $13 million in grant funding from various sources last year, including the company’s own hardship fund, which is administered by Dollar Energy Fund, LIHEAP, the Pennsylvania Homeowners Assistance Fund and the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, among others.

From now until March 1, Duquesne Light is offering grants through Dollar Energy Fund to low-income customers whose service is off or at risk of being shut off. After March 1, Dollar Energy Fund grants will be available to all income-eligible customers regardless of service status, the utility said.

Columbia Gas said it has flexible payment options to help customers manage their bills, provide aid with overdue balances and offer financial assistance to qualifying customers. The Columbia Gas Hardship Fund, administered by Dollar Energy Fund, provides grants of up to $500 per year to residential customers who are low income to pay off past-due bills or restore service. This program is available if eligible customers have exhausted all other available assistance programs.

“Even if a customer earns too much to qualify for financial assistance, we (West Penn Power) can negotiate a payment plan so they can pay part of their past-due bills with current bills to catch up,” Meyers said.

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