The recent rise in heating costs could be a chilly obstacle for students living off campus this winter.
The increasing cost of fuel, partly due to the hurricane damage to national refineries, will lead to an anticipated 50 percent increase in heating bills this winter as compared to last year, according to National Public Radio. The average American household will spend an extra $260 on heating this winter, according to the Energy Information Association.
This increase in heating costs has forced students living off campus who pay their own utilities to reform their heat usage and find other ways to keep warm. Leslie Herrmann M.D. '09 said she and her roommates are mitigating their heating costs by getting heavy drapes for the windows, sealing storm windows and wearing heavy sweaters in anticipation of the large increase in heating bills this winter.
While the escalation in utilities expenses will complicate some students' budgets this winter, it also poses a business problem to certain landlords.
Joel Sousa, a local landlord who rents approximately 60 houses and apartments to Brown students, charges his tenets a flat rental rate that includes utilities. Sousa said he implemented this policy to avoid damage to his properties, as some students who paid for their own utilities would go home for winter break in January and turn off their heat, which can cause the pipes to burst.
Paying for his tenets' utilities this winter, however, poses a looming fiscal problem for Sousa, who said he expects his rental profits to be cut in half this season. In response to rising heating costs, Sousa said he is considering either having renters pay for their own utilities in the future or raising rent.
Faced with these costs, Sousa and some Brown students said they think the government should provide financial support to mitigate heating costs this winter. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, have proposed an amendment that would provide $3.1 billion to help low-income families with their heating costs this winter, according to Reed's Web site.
However, Amy Schneider '06 said it "would make more sense to help out the power companies" and lower the cost of heating for all consumers.
Sousa agreed, saying that "big oil companies should try to balance prices that go way up" in the winter with summer's lower heating costs. Because most families' incomes do not vary seasonally, they have more difficulty making ends meet in the winter, he said.
Students renting from landlords who pay their tenants' utilities, like Sousa, are glad to be relieved of the increased heating costs this winter. But even these students said they remain conscious of their utilities usage. Even though the cost of utilities is included in her rent, Schneider, who lives off campus with friends, said, "Generally, the household conserves electricity, heat and water anyway, so we're not doing anything extra this winter."
Scott Yi M.D. '09 shares this conservationist attitude, saying of his landlord, "Since he was nice enough to pay for our utilities, we decided not to screw him over."
His roommate Adam Darity '06, however, may have different plans. "Scott and I don't have to pay utilities, so we are planning to put the thermostat on 80 degrees all winter and walk around in our underwear," Darity said jokingly.
