No free A/C units through LIHEAP in Pennsylvania this summer

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Pennsylvanians hoping to receive free air conditioners through a utility assistance program will be out of luck this summer.

The state will not run its popular summer LIHEAP cooling program due to a funding shortfall, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

A summer without the program will mean more suffering for Philadelphians without working air conditioning — and possibly even deaths, said Donna Backues, coordinator of community and family wellness at SEAMAAC (Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition), a South Philly–based nonprofit that serves immigrants and refugees and helped several clients apply for the program last summer.

“There’s just a lot of poverty in Philadelphia, so just because of that, there’s people that need it,” she said. “A lot of times, there’s a lot of people living in one house, so one fan’s not going to do it.”

The last three summers, the cooling program provided eligible Pennsylvania families two Energy Star–rated room air conditioner units, one A/C unit and a fan, or replacement of a broken central air conditioning system.

The program was funded with federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) money left over after the winter heating season, during which the program helps families pay their heating bills.

A popular program providing free A/C units

Last summer, the state allocated $5.3 million for the free air conditioner program, enough to serve roughly 2,400 households statewide.

But that amount proved insufficient to meet the overwhelming demand. Last summer, over a dozen of the county-level agencies that distributed the funding, including the two organizations serving Philadelphia, told state officials they had depleted their funds and were forced to start waitlists more than a month before the program was set to close. The Energy Coordinating Agency, for example, served over 500 households, but wasn’t able to address inquiries from at least 1,000 more.

Only households that had received LIHEAP assistance in the prior November through April or who were receiving federally funded weatherization assistance were eligible for the air conditioner program.

This year, no money left over after COVID relief funds dry up

Funding for the state’s LIHEAP program was bolstered in recent years by federal pandemic relief money under the American Rescue Plan Act. The last of that funding was spent last summer, said Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development spokesperson Justin Backover.

This year, Pennsylvania’s regular annual allocation was used up during the heating season, with nothing left over for the summer, he said.

“An exceptionally cold January and February, coupled with rising HVAC material and labor costs, meant we were unable to serve all LIHEAP Crisis Interface (Heating) clients, leaving no capacity for additional ancillary programs like Cooling,” Backover wrote in an email.

The lack of funding for Pennsylvania’s summer air conditioner program is not related to the Trump administration’s firing of the entire federal staff working on LIHEAP or the administration’s terminations of grants, Backover said.

But advocates for low-income consumers and members of Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission worry the LIHEAP staff cuts could imperil the program going forward.

The Hunting Park–based nonprofit Esperanza and Community Legal Services have urged Pennsylvania lawmakers to add state dollars to Pennsylvania’s federal LIHEAP allocation, so the state can provide not only A/C units but also electric bill assistance during the summer.

The two organizations conducted a survey that found that while most respondents in low-income neighborhoods did have an air conditioner in their home, many struggled to run it due to unaffordable electricity bills.

Without air conditioning ‘the house becomes like an oven’

Last summer, SEAMAAC outreach worker Huiling Yang helped a survivor of domestic violence living in Northeast Philly whose air conditioner was broken apply for the program. The client was unsuccessful, and after her fan recently broke, asked Yang if she could help her apply again.

“She is concerned about this year’s summer,” Yang said. “Right now, there’s no program to help with this anymore. So, I don’t know how we can help her.”

Many of SEAMAAC’s clients have health issues, live with young children, are survivors of domestic violence or are older, Backues said.

“We worry about our elders the most because the older you get, the harder the heat waves — the more dangerous they are,” she said. “The heat in a South Philly rowhome is really intense in the summer, and the house becomes like an oven.”