Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program Funding Available

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced the release of more than $845 million in additional funding to states to help low-income households with their heating and energy costs under LIHEAP.

LIHEAP assists low-income households, including families with children and seniors, with their home energy needs such as heating in the winter, cooling their homes in the summer, and insulating their homes to make them more energy efficient and reduce their energy costs.

The $845 million in block grant funds being released is in addition to the $1.7 billion released to states since October 2011. Including the additional funds, states will have received a total of $2.581 billion in LIHEAP block funds for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012.

According to HHS, New York State will receive $46,374,814 of the additional program funding. This amount is in addition to the $375,000,000 in funding received by the state in October for the FY 2012 program.

It is recommended that those needing assistance contact their local social services departments as soon as possible before the program funding is depleted.