White House offers support to cover energy bills

Nov. 2 (UPI) -- The White House on Wednesday said it will make $13 billion available to help support low-and medium-income households pay their energy bills and find ways to make their homes more energy-efficient.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will take the podium in Boston to announce the administration's next steps in supporting families who may be struggling with their utility bills.

Some of the economic pressures building up for U.S. taxpayers are increasing even though commodity prices are lingering below the highs from earlier this year. Combined with the increase in the cost of everything from rent to groceries, and it becomes clear the pressure is still severe.

Harris in Boston will relay how the White House is working to cut energy prices ahead of the winter heating season and help U.S. households make upgrades to their homes to improve overall energy efficiency.

"President Biden's economic plan focuses on lowering energy costs for American families so they can keep their homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer, especially as communities across the country cope with extreme temperatures and volatile weather fueled by climate change," a handout from the White House read.

Commodity prices could increase from here on out because of the decision from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to tighten production quotas for November and the December ban in the European Union of waterborne crude oil imports from Russia.

West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil was trading at around $88 per barrel early Wednesday, but the consensus is that a return to $100 oil is imminent.

A program under the federal Department of Health and Human Services offers $4.5 billion to help low-income families pay their bills and make any necessary energy-related repairs. Another tranche of funding supports a rebate program for heat pumps, something the administration said holds "tremendous promise to lower energy costs for all American families -- saving up to $500 in energy bills every year."

The announcement follows data showing inflation is still hitting the pocketbooks of U.S. taxpayers. The Bureau of Economy Analysis on Friday showed the personal consumption expenditures index, which measures prices consumers paid for goods and services, rose by 0.3% over August and 6.2% from a year ago.