PA Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Opens November 4

On November 1, the Department of Human Services and Public Utility Commission announced the start of the annual Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) application process for the 2024-25 season. The program will officially begin on November 4, 2024 and conclude on April 4, 2025.

LIHEAP is a federally funded program administered by DHS that helps qualified Pennsylvanians pay their home heating bills during the winter months. Assistance is available for both renters and homeowners. The LIHEAP application period for cash and crisis grants is open from November 4, 2024, to April 4, 2025.

LIHEAP assistance is available in the form of cash or crisis grants which are distributed directly to a household’s utility company or home heating fuel provider. Individuals or households do not have to repay assistance. The minimum LIHEAP cash grant is $200, and the maximum cash grant is $1,000. Individuals and households may receive one cash grant per LIHEAP season.

Separately, Pennsylvanians who qualify for a LIHEAP crisis grant will be eligible for a minimum grant of $25 and a maximum grant of $1,000. Individuals and households are eligible for a crisis grant if they meet the income guidelines and are in jeopardy of having their heating utility service terminated, have already had their heating utility service terminated, or who are out of or have less than two weeks’ worth of deliverable fuel, such as fuel oil, propane, coal, or wood. Households may apply for and be eligible for more than one crisis grant – up to the $1,000 maximum – if they experience more than one emergency per LIHEAP season.

Households must apply for LIHEAP each year, so if an individual was approved or denied previously, DHS encourages them to apply again for the 2024-25 season. Individuals and families are financially eligible for LIHEAP if their incomes are at or below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Limit. For an individual, that is a gross income of $22,590 per year, and for a family of four, that is a gross income of $46,800 per year.

During the 2023-24 LIHEAP season, 302,356 households statewide received $113,068,913 in LIHEAP cash benefits, and these households received an average season benefit of $374. Approximately 115,614 households statewide received $63,355,913 in LIHEAP crisis benefits, and these households received an average payment of $548.

The PPA actively serves on the LIHEAP Advisory Committee (LAC) to represent the interests of deliverable fuel vendors and consumers.