Biddeford Residents to Get Heating Oil Help

By SETH HARKNESS Staff Writer

A nonprofit based in Massachusetts will donate about $30,000 worth of heating oil to help low-income Biddeford residents who never got fuel they bought from three companies that went out of business last month.

Mayor Joanne Twomey announced on Wednesday that Citizens Energy, which provides free oil to low-income families around the country, has pledged 100 gallons apiece for 100 Biddeford residents who lost money to the companies owned by Nick Curro.

To qualify, residents must apply through the city and show that they suffered losses from the collapse of Veilleux Oil, Price Rite and Perron Fuel. They also must meet income guidelines set by the federal Low Income Heating Assistance Program.

Vouchers for oil will go to the first 100 people who qualify.

Twomey said Citizens Energy agreed to provide the oil after she called the organization, run by former Massachusetts congressman Joe Kennedy, and explained how hard this winter has been for some Biddeford residents.

Twomey said she had been hearing from many residents, especially the elderly, who said they could not afford to keep heating their homes after losing money to the failed companies.

"I’m hoping this reaches the neediest of our people," she said.

More than 300 people have called the Maine Attorney General’s Office to say that they paid for fuel from Curro’s companies but never received it. Curro is the target of a lawsuit by the attorney general and criminal investigations by local police and federal investigators.

Welfare Director Vickie Edgerly said financial hardship has been acute in Biddeford this year, especially since the well-publicized failure of the local oil businesses.

She said 50 of Curro’s former customers have contacted the city in the past few weeks because they cannot afford to fill their fuel tanks.

"People have come into my office who’d normally never be there," she said.

Edgerly said the city has $10,000 available to help people who need oil but do not meet LIHEAP guidelines. To qualify for LIHEAP, a family of four must have household income of $36,137 or less.

The city’s money, coming from a combination of state grants and private donations, is available to anyone who can show they are financially unable to pay their heating bill, she said.

The nationwide need for heating assistance has drained the resources of Citizens Energy this winter. In January, the organization announced that it had pledged all 45 million gallons donated by the Venezuelan oil company Citgo this year.

Citizens Energy also accepts private donations to fund a smaller program that provides emergency heating assistance to people in extreme need, said spokeswoman Ashley Durmer. Citizens will use that to provide for Biddeford residents.

Residents who need heating assistance should contact the Biddeford Department of Health and Welfare at 284-9514.

Staff Writer Seth Harkness can be contacted at 282-8225 or at:

sharkness@pressherald.com

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