The Economics of Low Income Energy Assistance in New York – No Wonder They Call Economics the “Dismal” Science

May 20, 2008.  A presentation by FPI senior economist Trudi Renwick and Gerald Norlander of the Public Utility Law Project of New York, prepared for NYSERDA’s 2008 Low-Income Forum on Energy (LIFE). With prices for power and heating fuel rising faster than wages or assistance – against a backdrop of widespread poverty in upstate cities – the situation is grim for low-income families. Renwick and Norlander lay out specific standards for reform of assistance programs.