THE CANADIAN PRESS

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HALIFAX - Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald says the province will expand the home heating rebate program to help with rising costs.

But the premier isn't giving details, saying they will be released as part of an energy assistance package to be announced next week.

On Wednesday, NDP Leader Darrell Dexter called on the government to double the heating rebate to $400 from $200 per needy family.

Dexter says more upfront help is needed in a province where 60 per cent of households heat with oil.

The premier is quick to point out that the NDP were calling for an expansion of a program that they voted against in the spring budget.

At the time, the New Democrats said they couldn't support the revamped program because it broke a 2006 Tory election promise to remove the provincial portion of the HST from all electrical bills.

The current program scales back the eight per cent provincial portion of the heating rebate for households that consume more than 27.4 kilowatts per day on average over a typical billing period.