Tagged: home heating

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Gov. Rick Snyder is joining with advocacy groups to raise awareness for Michigan families living without heat this winter.

Snyder proclaimed February "Keep Michigan Warm" month to highlight "the growing and critical need for home heating assistance in Michigan." It was requested by advocacy group Coalition to Keep Michigan Warm.

Snyder says "no one should ever have to choose between heating their home and feeding their family." He says many families are forced to spend more than half of their annual income on energy costs.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Warmer weather wasn't the only factor lowering heating bills in Michigan this winter, but it sure helped.

The Michigan Public Service Commission notes that lower natural gas prices also contributed to lower heating bills in the state. Roughly 80 percent of Michigan households use natural gas for home heating

But the biggest factor probably was the weather. The state agency said Friday that temperatures were around 20 percent warmer than normal during the recently completed November through March heating season.

Discussions continue between House and Senate Republicans on how to ensure low-income families in Michigan have help with their winter heating bills. Today is most likely the final day of official meetings of the Legislature in 2011. And lawmakers don’t want to leave for their month-long winter break without passing a plan for home-heating assistance.

“We still have some numbers to crunch," said Sen. Ken Horn (R-Frankenmuth). "As the rubber hits the road, this is all becoming very real, and we’re very confident on both sides that we’re ready to combine those ideas and come up with a solution.”

Horn says the state will reduce the amount of money a household can receive in home-heating assistance to $450 for the winter months. He says that will help ensure state money for heating assistance lasts until the spring.