Program That Helps New Yorkers Pay Winter Heating Bills Delayed by Federal Shutdown, Gov. Says

Nearly 1 million New York City households relied on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) last winter to help afford their heating costs, more than any other region in the state. Applications for this year’s benefits are on hold indefinitely until federal funding resumes, officials said.

A program that helps low-income New Yorkers pay for heating in the winter is on hold because of the federal government shutdown, state officials announced Wednesday—at a time when many households are already behind on, or struggling to pay for, their energy bills.

Nearly 1 million New York City households relied on the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (known as LIHEAP, or HEAP) last winter to help afford their energy costs, more than any other region in the state. Applications for this season were supposed to open Nov. 3, but are being delayed for at least a few weeks—or until the federal government reopens and reallocates funding, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday.

“Thanks to Washington Republicans’ government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers are about to be left in the cold,” Hochul said in a statement. “By refusing to open the government and delaying heating assistance funding, Republicans are once again willfully turning their backs on their constituents.”

The federal government has been shutdown since Oct. 1, after Republican and Democratic lawmakers hit an impasse over healthcare spending: Democrats in Congress want to extend subsidies that help residents pay for health services under the Affordable Care Act, to avoid huge hikes in people’s monthly premiums.

Other public programs are also at risk, should the closure continue: funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, is due to run out Nov. 1, meaning more than 3 million New Yorkers could lose the benefits that help them pay for groceries each month.

In a statement Wednesday, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees LIHEAP through its Administration for Children and Families, blamed the “Democrat-led shutdown” for “preventing states from receiving new funds.”

“The Trump Administration is committed to reopening the government for the American people,” HHS Press Secretary Emily G. Hilliard said in an email.

LIHEAP provides both emergency and one-time payments toward utility bills or the cost of fuel delivery. Eligibility is based on household size, income (a single person, for example, must earn below $41,685 a year to qualify), and other factors, like if the household includes someone who is 60 or older, 6 or younger, or permanently disabled. 

Last year, it doled out $287 million in heating assistance across the state, with $54 million of that going to households in the five boroughs.

The program’s delay comes as New Yorkers’ energy costs are going up, and as many already struggle to afford their heating bills.

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.

Statewide, more than 1.2 million households are over 60 days behind on their energy bills, collectively owing nearly $2 billion, according to advocates with AARP and the Public Utility Law Project.

The two groups put out a statement earlier this week imploring Gov. Hochul to fund LIHEAP directly during the shutdown so it can open on time this winter, saying more than 1,800 New York households per day had their energy service disconnected just in August alone.

“Without immediate action, more than a million households could be forced to choose between heat, food, or medicine as temperatures start to drop,” the organizations said in a statement.

Those in need of immediate assistance should check their eligibility for other emergency funds, the advocates said, like New York City’s One Shot Deal or the state’s Energy Affordability Program.

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