ALBANY — U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced more than $360 million in federal funds will be available to New Yorkers to help low-income families heat their homes this winter.
Gillibrand announced the funds during a virtual press conference on Wednesday. The fund will be made available through the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which is a federally-funded program that helps low-income families pay for utility and heating bills. The program in New York is called the Home Energy Assistance Program — or HEAP.
Gillibrand during the press conference said climate change and increasingly common extreme weather events have made this funding more critical than ever.
“Weather forecasters at AccuWeather have warned that with El Nino strengthening in the [Northeast], we’ll see more snow than they did in the 2022-23 season. In New York City, we could see as much as 10 times more snow than last winter. This could put enormous strain on families, businesses and communities that are struggling to afford their energy bills,” the Democrat said. “In New York, we have some of the highest average annual energy costs in the country. And while energy prices are expected to remain fairly stable, or even fall this year compared to last year, they are likely to remain above pre-pandemic levels.
The 2023-24 HEAP benefit application period is scheduled to start on Wednesday, Nov. 1 and benefits are based on income, household size, heating source and whether the household includes a member who is under six, over 60 years of age or includes someone who is permanently disabled. Eligible residents can receive a maximum of $500 to help with home heating costs, which goes directly to the energy company.
This year’s funding is a decrease from a record-high two years ago due to the passage of the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Included in ARPA was a record $875.8 million in LIHEAP funds for New York for fiscal year 2021-22. That was more than double from the state’s typical annual funding. The appropriation was a temporary measure to help struggling families during the pandemic.
Gillibrand said the average New Yorker spends nearly $2,400 on energy costs each year.
“This can be an extraordinary burden on low-income New Yorkers, often forcing them to make the difficult choice between paying their utility bills or paying for groceries or medicine. Some families trying to reduce their energy costs resort to using space heaters which can use less energy than central heating systems, but they can also be very dangerous — sparking more than 1,000 fires every year,” she said.
In 2022, a malfunctioning space heater in an apartment in the Bronx sparked a fire that ultimately killed 17 people, including nine children, and ultimately raised statewide awareness about the dangers of using space heaters.
Total funding for the LIHEAP program nationwide last year was $6.1 billion, including $2 billion in emergency supplemental funding. This year’s first allocation of LIHEAP funds released Tuesday totaled $3.7 billion, however Gillibrand said more funds are needed.
“To address this, I also recently co-signed a bipartisan letter calling on the Biden administration to include additional LIHEAP funding in any future supplemental funding requests,” she said. “We must make sure that every New Yorker, every family and every child is safe in their home and that the government has what’s necessary to help them meet their energy needs.”
