The most familiar fuel assistance program is called LIHEAP, the acronym for Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. It is administered locally by Portland-based Opportunity Alliance, and to find out if you are eligible, you can call them at 553-5900 or 800-698-4959. And be patient, their lines are often busy and you may experience a wait – longer than a couple of minutes.
The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program provides money to help low-income homeowners and renters pay for heating costs.
The amount of assistance you may get from LIHEAP is based on your household size and income, energy costs and other factors.
You may be eligible for assistance if your total household income falls within the income eligibility guidelines or 60 percent of the state area median income, whichever is less. Eligibility for households with incomes between 150 percent and 170 percentof the federal poverty guidelines is limited to those households with a member who is susceptible to hypothermia, such as elderly, a child 24 months of age or under, or with a doctor’s diagnosis.
If your heat is included in your rent, you may still apply for LIHEAP.
Additional help may be available if you have less than a three-day supply of heating fuel or are in danger of having utility services disconnected and you have no means to pay your energy company.
If you are eligible for LIHEAP, you also may qualify for other programs that require LIHEAP eligibility:
• If you receive residential electric service from an electric utility and you are not living in government-subsidized housing, you may be eligible for assistance with your electric bills from your electric utility’s Low Income Assistance Plan.
• If your home is not as energy efficient as it could be, you may qualify for home weatherization improvements.
• If your heating system is in need of repair or replacement, you may qualify for the Central Heating Improvement Program.
An application is supposed to be automatically be sent by Oct. 1 to those who have received LIHEAP the previous year. On Nov. 8, I called Opportunity Alliance to find out if I might qualify this year and was shocked when I was told I should have received a notice more than a month prior to my call.
After a long conversation, the clerk was able to give me an appointment on Dec. 21 and I was told that if I am approved, it would be six to eight weeks before I’d know the amount of help. An appointment card will be mailed. I hope it isn’t delayed.
Surely, hundreds of gallons of oil will have to be purchased by the time of my potential approval (perhaps the end of February). The coldest part of winter will be gone and we’ll be headed toward spring. This program is helpful, no doubt, but I’d say getting an appointment early on is the best thing to do.
Applications for LIHEAP are accepted from Aug. 1 through April 30 of each year.
At the time of application, you should be prepared to provide the following information:
• Names and Social Security numbers of all people living in your household.
• Proof of gross household income for the last 3 or 12 months. (Household income includes, but is not limited to: wages, Social Security, unemployment, pension, and disability payments.)
• Proof of present address (for example, a rent receipt, lease, deed, or property tax bill).
• Recent copies of your energy and utility bills.
• The type of fuel used to heat your home (natural gas, heating oil, propane, wood, wood pellets, biobricks, coal, corn or kerosene).
Kay Soldier welcomes reader ideas for column topics of interest to seniors. She can be reached by email at kso48@aol.com, or write to 114 Tandberg Trail, Windham, ME 04062.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
