Next winter, when the temperatures drop and the oil tank is low, rising fuel costs might bring on a budget crisis for some homeowners.

Unlike public utilities such as gas or electric, private oil companies are not bound by law to deliver in the winter even if the customer doesn’t pay their bill, so each company sets its own policies. But most will work with the customer if they can’t pay.

Janice Fusco at Viking Oil and Propane Company in Candia said they follow the normal collection procedures for their credit customers, with letters and phone calls to follow up. If a customer is behind in payments, Viking might require a customer who orders fuel to pay for the delivery upfront along with 25 percent of their balance, for instance.

But those policies can always change, said, Fusco, as fuel companies also have to pay for the fuel they get, and prices are rising quickly. “We advise customers to not ignore their bills or our attempts to reach them,” she said. “Communicate with us and we’ll work something out.”

State offers fuel assistance Area fuel assistance programs are gearing up for the 2008-09 heating season and the rise in demand that’s sure to come with skyrocketing fuel costs.

“The number of requests went up by 7 percent last year from the year before,” said Sharon Brody, head of the Rockingham Community Action fuel assistance program. “We’re expecting even more this year.”

The Rockingham office handles the area from Auburn to the Seacoast and south to Salem. There are six community action agencies in the state, which distribute federal funds made available to them from the New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning in the form of low-income home energy assistance block grants. Help is available to both homeowners and renters.

Go to the state OEP Web site, www.nh.gov/oep/programs. htm, and click on “fuel assistance,” for more information and for the contact for your area.

Brody couldn’t say what the exact eligibility criteria would be for assistance this year, as it depends on how many applications the office gets and how much money is available. But she encourages people to apply as soon as they can if they anticipate a need. Applications are taken from Sept. 1 through April 30, and from that point, an interview will set up with those requesting help.

Some towns also offer assistance to varying degrees, Brody said, but this year, everyone will be strapped trying to assist those in need.

The community action agencies also accept private donations. “Sometimes elderly people get assistance, then they ask to be taken off the list when they no longer need help,” Brody said. “Then we’ll get $1 or $5 in the mail from them. It breaks us up.”

To make a donation, send to the community action agency of your choice and earmark it for fuel assistance. The phone numbers and e-mail addresses for the agencies are listed on the OEP Web site.

Brody is hoping, most of all, for a warm winter this year. “But if not, we hope we can help everyone,” she said. “We’re waiting for our Santa Claus, our knight in shining armor, so we can help as many people as possible.”