This browser does not support the Video element.
NY Gov. calls on Trump Admin. for heat assistance
New York Governor Kathy Hochul held a press conference Monday morning calling on the Trump Administration to release federal heat assistance funding.
Approximately $3.6 billion in delayed funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, has been released to states and tribes, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.
LIHEAP helps millions of low-income households pay to heat and cool their homes.
Long-awaited $3.6B in heating assistance released
What they're saying:
"This release of LIHEAP funding is essential and long overdue," Mark Wolfe, executive director of NEADA, said in a statement. "Families can finally begin receiving the support they need to keep the heat on as winter begins."
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the assistance program, has not yet issued a formal public announcement about resumption of the funding.
FILE: A woman presses thermometer (Credit: Getty Images)
The funding was held up during the beginning of the cold-weather season due to the federal government shutdown, which ended Nov. 12.
States typically receive their allocations at the beginning of November.
US House members urge release of funds
The backstory:
On Monday, a bipartisan group of U.S. House members sent a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging him to release the LIHEAP funds by Nov. 30.
Given the heating season has already started in many parts of the U.S., they said "there is no time to waste," especially for households that use home heating oil or propane. Those fuels typically aren’t affected by state moratoriums on utility shutoffs during the winter months.
Roughly 68% of LIHEAP households also receive SNAP food benefits. Wolfe said delays in both programs during the shutdown "put many households in an even more precarious situation than usual."
Home heating costs projected to increase
Big picture view:
In an August 2024 Energy Hardship report released by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), the policy organization says home heating costs in the nation are projected to spike 10.5%, on average, in part based on colder temperatures forecast for the Northeast and Midwest.
People who heat their homes using electricity will feel serious financial hardships with their costs projected to skyrocket 13.6% to $1,208 during the winter, per the NEADA.
RELATED: Energy costs: These are the states paying the most, least
The report also noted that heating costs tend to fluctuate in the winter. For instance, residents that use propane to heat their home will see their heating costs soar 7.3% to $1,442 in the winter, while residents who use natural gas are expected to experience a 7.2% increase to $644 in their home heating costs this winter.
These inflated costs are resulting in a rising number of people nationwide struggling to pay their utility bills.
The Source: This story was reported from Los Angeles. The Associated Press contributed.