By EDWARD D. MURPHY, staff writer Monday, January 9, 2006

photo by Gregory Rec

Eileen Parisi, of Sanford, suffered major damage to her house when a log fell out of a wood stove, above, and started a fire last week. Parisi was using the bedroom stove because she couldn't afford an oil delivery. Other Mainers are also having financial difficulties this winter - for the first time, some credit unions are offering loans specifically to help pay for fuel delivery.

TIPS TO SAVE ON HEATING OIL

BESIDES SHOPPING around for the best deal, Mainers can't do much this winter about the high cost of heating oil. But they can burn fewer gallons by taking some low-cost/no-cost steps and by considering more substantial upgrades. Here are some of the top suggestions from the Maine Public Utilities Commission, the Maine Oil Dealers Association and Press Herald staff research:

TURN DOWN your thermostat when you go to bed or are away from home. Setting it back just five degrees can cut your heating bill by 5 percent. The best bet is to install a day/night setback thermostat, which automatically adjusts the temperature to your schedule.

SEAL ELECTRIC RECEPTACLES and switch boxes with foam gaskets. If you can feel air movement by holding the back of your hand to the box on a cold day, cold air is coming in to your home.

MAKE SURE DOORS and windows have good weather-stripping. A one-eighth-inch gap at the bottom of an average 36-inch-wide door is like having a hole in the wall about the size of a half-dollar coin. If every door and window in your home has small gaps, that adds up to a big hole.

CAULK OR SEAL any openings around the house where warm air can leak outside. Examine all windows, door frames, pipes, ducts and sills.

KEEP CLOSET DOORS closed. Insulate and weather-strip attic access and basement trap doors. Make sure attic insulation is up to standards.

CLOSE CURTAINS and shades at night to help trap heat inside. Open them during the day, especially on the south side of your house, to capture heat from the sun. Clear plastic sheeting, installed inside and shrunk tight with a hair dryer, can help insulate older windows.

MAKE SURE FIREPLACE dampers are shut after the fire is totally out and no glowing coals are left. Cold wood stoves should have their dampers closed, too, because an open flue sucks heat up the chimney. Just remember to open dampers when lighting a new fire.

KEEP YOUR HEATING system at peak efficiency, which can save up to 5 percent on fuel. Oil heat technicians prefer to do furnace and boiler tune-ups in the spring and summer, before the heating season begins. Replacing an old system, or increasing operating efficiency with a new burner, can pay for itself over a short time.- Compiled by Tux Turkel, staff writer

TO LEARN MORE www.meoil.com www.efficiencymaine.org

As the winter heating season kicks into high gear, Mainers are buying less heating oil per delivery in order to avoid a big bill and falling behind on other payments. Some people are taking out heating-bill loans, which are being offered for the first time this year.

"We hear stories and get calls about people wearing two pairs of pants, two shirts," said Grant Lee, executive director of the Peoples Regional Opportunity Program, which provides heating aid to low-income residents. "They're bundling up at home and trying to keep heating cost down. They're having to make some pretty tough choices."

With heating oil prices averaging more than $2.30 a gallon, and kerosene, propane and electric rates all sharply higher than a year ago, budgets are being refigured, other bills set aside and savings accounts raided to keep homes and apartments warm.

"We told all of our customers back in August to set aside more money" for heating oil this winter, said Matt Marks, the general manager of Yorkie Oil. Still, Marks said, more customers seem to be ordering 100 gallons at a time to avoid the high cost of filling a tank, which typically holds 200 to 250 gallons.

Soaring crude oil prices this year have sent home heating oil prices to a statewide average of $2.34 a gallon, according to the latest survey by the state's Office of Energy Independence and Security. That's 45 cents above the price at this time last year, the state said.

Rachel Moore, a student and temporary worker, said she's behind on some of her bills because of the higher heating costs and her own circumstances.

"It's killing me," she said of the cost of keeping two oil tanks filled in the two-unit house she owns in Durham. She said normally the heating oil is her tenants' responsibility, but the house is empty now because Moore is selling the property.

"Now I'm filling both of them every other month, and I just got a bill for $1,000," said Moore, who also is paying for propane to heat the house she's renting in South Portland.

Moore said she's behind, for the first time in her life, on payments on her car and credit cards. "I'm waiting for more cash flow" to catch up, she said.

Eileen Parisi in Sanford said her inability to pay for heating oil led to "desperate measures."

Parisi said she called her oil supplier and asked for a delivery, but told the company that she wouldn't be able to pay for about a week. The company said it would supply the oil only for cash on delivery from Parisi, who admits her credit history is not the best.

Parisi said one wood stove in her home was unusable because of chimney problems, so she used the one in her bedroom. She was up much of the night early last week feeding that stove and failed to latch the door tightly, she said. A log rolled out, setting her bedroom on fire.

Parisi and her two children managed to get out safely, but her bedroom was destroyed and the rest of the house suffered smoke damage.

Parisi had homeowners insurance, so the house will be repaired. She hopes to move back in a few months.

Some oil suppliers work closely with social service agencies to help customers get assistance in paying their bills.

"Our credit departments are working long and trying very hard to work things through with our customers," said John Peters, president of Downeast Energy. "We realize it's even more difficult than it was last year."

Peters noted that some customers started this year's heating season with unpaid balances left over from last year, exacerbating the situation.

"It's a difficult situation for the consumer and the companies," he said.

Heating bills have gotten so high that a handful of credit unions in the state are offering loans to help consumers.

University Credit Union, which is based in Orono and has a Portland branch, said its "energy loan" can be used to pay for fuel, buy a wood stove, add insulation or otherwise make a home more energy-efficient.

Melanie Israel, marketing director for the credit union, said the interest rate of 5.99 percent for the one-year loan is half the rate on most unsecured loans. Payments are made directly to oil companies or contractors, she said, so the credit union is assured the money is spent for its intended purpose.

The idea, Israel said, is "to even it out, so instead of paying for all your oil at once out of your pocket, it's going to spread it out over the rest of the year."

Joe Gervais, senior vice president of lending, said the loan program will have an added benefit - the credit union will be able to identify and help customers who might have more serious financial problems that high heating bills are making worse.

Borrowing money to pay for ongoing expenses - rather than an asset like a house or car - can be a danger sign and put people even further in debt if the underlying financial problem isn't addressed.

Gervais said the credit union hopes to have those customers sit down for debt counseling, which could lead to refinancing some existing loans, debt consolidation or a home equity loan.

"If they're in need of this product, they're in need of other relief as well," he said.

Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:

emurphy@pressherald.com