AUGUSTA -- Lawmakers met today for the first of five meetings to try to figure out ways to help Mainers who will struggle to pay their heating oil bills this winter.

The Presiding Officers' Heat and Energy Emergency Task Force heard from the Maine State Housing Authority and others about what they now provide and what more needs to be done.

Of the 477,000 homes in Maine, an estimated 80 percent would benefit from improvements to make their homes more weather-proof, said John Kerry, who leads the Governor's Office of Energy Independence and Security.

"This is an unprecedented time in our history," he said. "It will be very difficult to judge how the working poor will handle it."

The task force, which includes 13 legislators, has until the end of November to come up with recommendations. Those could include bonds, more money for those eligible for low income heating assistance, more money for those just above the cutoff of low income help, or aid for schools and colleges, said House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven.