'Fuel Poverty' in America?

"For perhaps as many as 27 million American adults, keeping warm this winter will mean borrowing money and 20 million will use credit cards to be able to afford their heating bills, according to a CreditCards.com poll."

"Nearly 12 percent of Americans say they will need to borrow money to pay winter heating bills; 9 percent will need to use credit cards to be able to afford their heating bills. The poll, commissioned by CreditCards.com and conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media, surveyed 1,004 randomly selected American adults by telephone Dec. 7-9, 2007 to gauge their attitudes about energy costs in 2008. A majority say they expect oil and gasoline prices to get worse in 2008."

"More than two-thirds of the poll respondents (71 percent) say they will attempt to reduce heating costs by lowering their thermostats this winter. Every American family will need to consider ways to make similar kinds of changes in their long-term energy consumption habits."

"More than half the country uses natural gas for home heating. The highest heating bills will again go to the Northeast, where the average home can expect to pay a total of $1,202 over the winter months -- or about $200 a month. The Western states will have the lowest natural gas bills, according to the EIA. Homeowners there will pay about $557 through the winter."