HARRISBURG – Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program — LIHEAP — begins accepting applications for the winter on Monday, and state Rep. Camille “Bud” George, D-74 of Houtzdale, is urging area residents to apply.
“While energy costs have moderated somewhat, a number of factors could cause prices to skyrocket again, including an early cold snap and man-made or natural catastrophes,” said George, Democratic chairman of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. “A colder winter also is projected, which will add to heating costs.”
LIHEAP information and applications will be available Nov. 6 at county assistance offices. The numbers, regular and toll free where available, are:
? Clearfield County: 765-0684 and 800-862-8941
? Centre County: 863-6571 and 800-355-6024
? Jefferson County: 938-2990 and 800-242-8214
? Blair County: 946-7170
? Cambria County: 533-2253 and 877-315-0389
? Elk County: 772-5215 or 776-1101 and 800-847-0257
? Indiana County: (724) 357-2918 or (724) 357-2900 and 800-742-0679
Applications also may be made online at www.compass.state.pa.us. A toll-free hotline — 866-857-7095 will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Mondays through Fridays for LIHEAP questions.
An individual earning up to $14,700 annually is eligible — add $5,100 for each additional family member — for LIHEAP cash grants of $100 or more to help people pay heating bills. Crisis grants of up to $300 also are available for heating emergencies.
A family need not be on public assistance to qualify for LIHEAP, and a lien will not be placed on a family’s property because it receives a LIHEAP grant.
LIHEAP applicants will need to provide the names, birth dates, proof of income and Social Security numbers for household members, as well as a copy of a recent heating bill.
Utilities and the state Public Utility Commission have programs aimed at helping qualifying low-income customers keep up with their bills on regulated fuels, such as natural gas and electricity. The PUC’s Bureau of Consumer Services can be reached toll free at (1) 888 782-3228.
George said that even though more than 350,000 Pennsylvanians turned to LIHEAP for help last winter, the Commonwealth is not planning to bolster federal LIHEAP dollars with a state supplement.
“I find it incredibly callous that Pennsylvania will not join most states in the Northeast and contribute to heating assistance,” said Rep. George, whose amendment last year led to the state’s first-ever supplement — $19.3 million – to LIHEAP. “I have introduced legislation once again that would correct that.”
George noted that based on industry-wide totals the average indebtedness for residential electric customers, is $305, and most people participating in utility-sponsored assistance programs report incomes from employment, disability or pensions – not welfare.
“It is increasingly hard for many working families to afford their home-heating costs,” Rep. George said. “Next year’s Social Security cost-of-living adjustment will be 3.3 percent while heating oil costs are pegged to jump by 6 percent.”
Pennsylvania’s LIHEAP program, administered by the state Department of Public Welfare, is scheduled to end on March 22. It is based on an expected $124.5 million federal appropriation.
FUEL FACTS
? More than 5,200 LIHEAP applications were filed in Clearfield County last season.
? Last year, an estimated 21,000 households entered the heating season without heat-related utility service, including about 4,000 households heating with potentially unsafe heating sources
? LIHEAP assistance to eligible households increased by more than 8 percent during the last heating season.
A 2005 National Energy Assistance survey of LIHEAP recipients found:
? 94 percent have at least one member who is elderly, disabled, a child under 18, or has a single adult living with one or more children.
? 82 percent reported an annual income at or below $20,000.
? The average household spent an average of 14 percent of annual income on residential energy.
? 47 percent have a household member with asthma, emphysema, heart disease, or stroke.