Most folks I've spoken with are scared... I know we are...

Here's what our local oil supplier is currently charging per gallon:
Fuel Oil - 3.099 cash - 3.229 credit (which includes HEAP beneficiaries!)
Dyed Kerosene - 3.399 cash - 3.529 credit (^see above^)

NYS is #2 in Electric costs and heating one's home that way gets very expensive (BTDT)
Many homes here (and I know in Northern Maine as well) are older and poorly insulated. Many use older and less efficient furnaces as well. Quite a few have wood stoved/furnaces to help (wood is around $50 a face cord up here and we figure it will run us a face cord a week if we can get some delivered) but those are a lot of work for the seniors and disabled especially.

HEAP assistance is not enough to get most folks even semi-comfortably through the Winter and if you're elderly or disabled turning down the furnace to much can make pain levels much worse.