Low Income Assistance Heats Up for Winter
Monday, December 7th, 2009
By: Tom MacDonald
tmacdonald@whyy.org
The clock is ticking for people who need heating assistance in Pennsylvania. But the state's major assistance program has some different requirements this year – as well as limited cash on hand.
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The cash portion of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program or LIHEAP is officially open. Cameron Kline is a Philadelphia Gas Works spokesman. He says there is only $275 million dollars statewide for the program, and people who qualify for the assistance need to apply now before the money runs out.
Kline: For a household of four people they would qualify for LIHEAP if they made $33,000 dollars or less, but that's the general rule of thumb, household size and household income.
Cash and Crisis grants for the program can go from $125 to $1400 dollars. The crisis grant program doesn't begin until January 4th, and requires a separate application, which is a change from previous years. Kline says 150 thousand of their half million customers in Philadelphia alone qualify for grants.
More information:
For more information and for assistance in filling out the forms, you can call 215-684-6100.