- An estimated 1 in 6 American households are already behind on their utility bills after a scorching summer.
- The U.S. Energy Information Administration says natural gas prices are expected to jump 28%.
- Those who are financially vulnerable are older people living on fixed incomes who can’t work, experts say.
LONGMONT, Colo. — The temperature is dipping toward freezing Tuesday night and Toni Stark is getting worried about her rickety basement furnace holding out for another winter.
Her plumber told her it will probably make it through, but at 99 years old, Stark isn’t taking anything for granted – whether that’s being able to keep the furnace running or remaining in her home as the electric and heating bills begin to mount with the cold.