Overview
- With the shutdown in its fourth week, roughly $3.6 billion in LIHEAP allocations are on hold, jeopardizing heating help typically distributed in November and December.
- Pennsylvania pushed its program opening back by a month as its winter shutoff moratorium does not start until Dec. 1 and advocates report rising bills and more terminations.
- New York told agencies HEAP applications are delayed until further notice and said assistance is not possible before mid-November at the earliest, prompting utilities and advocates to pursue temporary relief.
- Minnesota is accepting applications but says payments, emergency fuel deliveries and furnace repairs will be delayed, while Xcel Energy and Minnesota Power pledged to keep LIHEAP-eligible customers connected.
- NEADA cautions that even with a funding resolution, releases may not come until December and distribution typically takes four to six weeks, a delay compounded by LIHEAP staff cuts at HHS earlier this year.