After Shutdown Delay, New York Opens Applications for Annual Heating Assistance Program

After a month-long delay caused by the federal government shutdown, New York households can now apply with the state for a subsidy to help them pay their winter heating bills. Assistance is doled out on a first-come, first-serve basis.

After a month-long delay caused by the federal government shutdown, New York households can now apply with the state for a subsidy to help them pay their winter heating bills.

New York opened applications Monday for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or HEAP, which runs every winter and provides both emergency and one-time payments toward utility bills or the cost of fuel delivery.

Eligibility is based on household size, income (a four person family, for example, must earn below $80,160 a year to qualify), and other factors, like if the household includes someone who is 60 or older, 6 or younger, or permanently disabled. The amount of aid participants get also varies.

Assistance is doled out on a first-come, first-serve basis until the federal money that funds the program runs out. Last year, the state ran out of those funds in late January—months sooner than in previous years. Applications usually open in November, but were delayed for several weeks this fall because of the federal government shutdown.

“Hardworking New Yorkers count on this assistance to help with their utility bills and keep their homes warm during the cold winter months,” Gov. Kathy Hochul, who’d repeatedly called for the Trump administration to release the $400 million in program funds earlier, said in a statement Monday.

A report last year from the climate policy think tank Switchbox found that one out of every four New York residents is “energy burdened,” meaning they spend at least 6 percent of their income on utility costs. In the Bronx, 34 percent of households are energy burdened, among the highest of any New York county, the report found.

Nearly 1 million New York City households used the assistance last year. Applicants within the five boroughs should apply through the city’s Human Resources Administration, which administers the program locally.

Older adults can also get assistance with their HEAP applications by contacting their local office for the aging (the Department for the Aging here in New York City) or by calling the NY Connects helpline at 1-800-342-9871.

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