For Lynn Knight, who lives in an 18th-century farmhouse in Georgia, Vt., with her partner and his 90-year-old mother, having a reliable heat source is non-negotiable.

But starting next winter, Knight plans to switch from an oil furnace to a pellet boiler system. The cost of home heating oil has become unmanageable, particularly over the last few months, she said, and it’s not clear when it’s likely to come back down.

“I’m on quite a restricted budget,” said Knight, a former Vermont-based employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “I’m really, really worried about where things are right now.”

As fuel costs continue to increase, many Vermonters are feeling the strain — particularly those who were already pressed to make ends meet. And for some, like Knight, the trend has already led to big decisions, such as switching out a primary heat source.

Energy prices across the country climbed again in April to nearly 18% above a year earlier, according to Consumer Price Index data released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the national trends are showing up locally: Home heating oil rose from under $3.50 per gallon last September to over $5.50 per gallon in April, according to data compiled by the state of Vermont. Average gasoline prices in the state have risen 50 cents in the last month to roughly $4.50, or about 50% above this time last year, according to AAA.

Economists attribute the surge in oil prices to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran in late February. As conflict in the region wears on, energy rates continue to rise.

Though chilly temperatures extended well into May, Vermonters are largely done heating their homes for the season. But one immediate problem the state’s fuel companies and customers alike remain worried about is how to work out the fixed-price agreements that allow households to lock in their oil rates for next year, according to Matt Cota, who lobbies for those dealers at the Statehouse.

Ordinarily, Cota said, May, June and July would be busy months for fuel companies looking to sell contracts to customers and place wholesale orders of their own. But that activity has “slowed down significantly” as buyers and sellers alike eye an inflated and volatile oil market, according to Cota.

“We don’t know what the future holds,” he said.

Major events in the oil market have historically led Vermonters to seek alternative heat sources, Cota added, including propane, which tends to be more price-stable.

Price guarantees were a tool Knight used last winter to lock in a maximum rate of $3.29 per gallon for a certain amount of oil. But based on the early estimates she got from local fuel dealers for another such contract for next year, future oil costs might be “impossible” to afford, she said.

Knight’s concerns over rising fees were echoed by Bob Stevens, an 83-year-old Weathersfield resident, who said he’d been astounded at the bill last month when his oil tank was refilled. Heating this winter in general, he said, had been far more expensive than he had anticipated.

“It’s really gone nuts really quickly,” he said. “It’s killing us.”

Stevens, too, is considering shifting away from oil, likely to a heat pump system. At this rate, the high upfront cost of such a switch would soon be offset by savings on energy bills, he said.

‘That much more pressure’

The long winter and the jump in fuel prices have also placed a new burden on the budgets of households already struggling to get by, according to social service providers.

Travis Poulin, community action network director at the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, said in an interview last week that the near-freezing overnight lows in late April and May had worsened matters for his clients.

“Especially if they’re living in housing that is not well weatherized, they’re continuing to have to use their home heating fuel to keep their homes warm during this period,” Poulin said.

Support is available in Vermont to help people cover their heating bills — but extended chills can place a greater burden on that system. The Seasonal Fuel Assistance program, which draws funding from the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance program, is granted by the state in a single block to each household in November. Crisis Fuel, a similar public program for one-time stopgap assistance that’s administered by organizations like Poulin’s, ends in April.

According to Poulin, the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity made about 10% more emergency deliveries in March and April this year, using both state and private funds, than during the same period last year. Meanwhile, costs have ballooned. The oil deliveries never cost more than $500 last year, while this year, many cost over $600.

For the people Poulin serves, he said, no financial problem exists in isolation.

“It’s a ripple effect,” he said. “It’s going to put that much more pressure on their entire budget.”

Sue Rossi, the energy and outreach manager at Capstone Community Action in Barre, said part of what makes fuel such a difficult expense for struggling Vermonters is the high bar for delivery orders. Unlike food, stopgap fuel measures are often extremely pricey, she said. Fuel dealers won’t deliver unless someone places an order large enough to meet the minimum, which in nearly all cases is 100 gallons or more.

“So, $5.50 a gallon for oil — they aren’t going to come unless you have that $550,” she said.

The cost of living has been difficult this winter in general, Rossi added.

“Food, fuel, and gas for vehicles are the killers,” she said. “We had, like, the perfect storm this year.”

Theo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VtDigger. This story was republished with permission from VtDigger, which offers its reporting at no cost to local news organizations through its Community News Sharing Project. To learn more, visit vtdigger.org/community-news-sharing-project.