Home heating costs are expected to outpace inflation this winter. Making matters worse for people who have trouble paying their utility bills, the government shutdown delayed federal assistance to them.
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What if I can’t afford my heating bill?
You can get help paying your heating bills from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP, if your income and family size qualify. Funds are provided by the federal government and distributed by state agencies. The Energy Department offers a map showing contacts in each state.
The program helps more than six million people avoid having their service disconnected. Nearly three million people have their electricity shut off annually because they can’t afford to pay, according to the Energy Justice Lab, a project of the University of Pennsylvania and Indiana University.
While the federal distribution of assistance has been delayed, some states, like Connecticut, have said they will temporarily provide some funding. Others, including Alaska and Massachusetts, have been able to tap funds left over from last year — an unusual situation, because funds are typically depleted by the summer, said Sanya Carley, faculty director of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
There may be further delays even after the government reopens, she said, because the Trump administration cut much of the staff at the Department of Health and Human Services, which administers the assistance program.
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