Seven more major utility companies have pledged not to cut off service to customers who ask for help, as well as to identify and notify any eligible recipients of government assistance. The new commitments were announced alongside a plan to distribute another $4.5 billion through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help Americans pay for heating during the second winter of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Biden administration.

According to the Labor Department’s consumer price index, electricity and natural gas prices are about 11 percent higher than they were a year ago. Meanwhile, according to the Energy Information Administration, residential heating oil prices are up 40% from a year ago.