Heating Assistance Rises in PA

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Slightly more than one in every ten Pennsylvania households is expected to get federal taxpayer assistance in paying their heating bills this winter, based on state data.

The federal government released $2.9 billion in tax dollars Wednesday for LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) to mostly northern states to assist households that are unable to pay their own heating bills. Pennsylvania will receive between $175 million and $190 million of that total, according to Kait Gillis of the state Department of Public Welfare (DPW).

Last winter about 390,000 households received stipends to help with their winter heating bills, while another 120,000 households received "crisis" assistance when their heat was cut off for non-payment of their bills. There are 4,952,000 households across the commonwealth, meaning more than 10 percent need or qualify for the tax dollars to heat their homes.

The average payout is $372 per applicant.

Payments to supplement or pay entire heating bills go directly to utility providers of gas, electric, or oil heat, after the household applies for and has been approved for assistance by DPW. Those payments show up as credits on the household utility bills. There is a maximum payment of $1,000 per household. The grants do not have to be repaid.

Qualified applicants can earn no more than 150 percent of the federal poverty level, based on family size. A family of four has to be earning less than $35,325 per year, or a family of six can earn no more than$47,385.

This year’s LIHEAP funding is the lowest in recent years, down from a high of $315 million in 2010.

The state program is administered by DPW.