Billions in Funding to Lower Home Energy Costs; LIHEAP Eligibility Tool Launched
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), released nearly $3.7 billion in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding to help households with their home energy costs. The funding will help ensure households across the country have the support they need to maintain safe and healthy indoor temperatures, especially as the winter season approaches. With this release, the Biden-Harris administration has invested nearly $22 billion in LIHEAP to date, which is part of the administration’s broader efforts to lower costs for families. The funding, released Oct. 24, is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which includes $100 million in increased funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in addition to regular appropriations from the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024.
“LIHEAP is critical to lowering energy costs for families, and protecting the health and safety of households, particularly those that include older adults, individuals with disabilities and young children,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.
“LIHEAP is a lifeline for households across the country who need support with their home energy bills,” said ACF Acting Assistant Secretary Jeff Hild. “Last year alone LIHEAP served more than six million households.”
LIHEAP is administered by ACF’s Office of Community Services (OCS). Every year, OCS releases funding to states, Tribes and territories to assist families and individuals with heating assistance, cooling assistance, home energy equipment repair and replacement and minor energy-related home repairs.
Alongside the funding release, ACF is also officially launching a LIHEAP eligibility tool. This user-friendly tool allows households across the country to quickly identify if they might be eligible for LIHEAP assistance by inputting basic information like income and household size.
“We know that for families and individuals with low incomes, many of whom work overtime or work multiple jobs to make ends meet, it can often be difficult and time consuming to figure out if they meet the eligibility requirements for a specific program,” said OCS Director Dr. Lanikque Howard. “The LIHEAP eligibility tool alleviates some of this burden by allowing households to more quickly identify if they might be eligible in their service area.”
The LIHEAP eligibility tool can be found at energyhelp.us and is available in Spanish, traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese. Individuals interested in applying for energy assistance can also visit energyhelp.us or call the National Energy Assistance Referral (NEAR) hotline toll-free at 866-674-6327. OCS has also released a LIHEAP heating assistance toolkit, which includes a variety of outreach materials, spotlight videos and winter safety resources designed to help keep families safe and warm during cold weather.