Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program
The program, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is funded by grants appropriated from the federal government.
[1] In total since 1976, weatherization assisted over 7 million low-income households, which received free home improvements worth an average of about $5,000.
[2] Funding is distributed to each of the fifty states, U.S. territories and tribal governments through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
LIHEAP offers one-time financial assistance to qualifying low-income households who require support in paying their home heating or cooling bills.
[3] LIHEAP provides funding assistance to low-income households, targeting those who are truly vulnerable: the disabled, elderly, and families with preschool-age children.
In some states, the legislature or governor may make a politically popular gesture of extending eligibility to additional individuals through an emergency bill or executive order, even though this may result in funds being claimed earlier in the winter season.
Many state LIHEAP agencies also offer weatherization support, in which contractors are sent to residences to make physical changes to help retain heat or install more fuel-efficient furnaces.
Some states have attempted to enact Percentage of Income Payment (PIP) plans within or in addition to the traditional LIHEAP block grant model.
Although overall funding has increased since 2002, future funding may be limited due to the recent trend in cutting the budget based on building codes requiring energy efficiency, modern appliances with low energy use standards, and concerns about federal budget sustainability.
In 1984, the Human Services Reauthorization Act added a new goal to provide funds for cooling costs of low-income households.
LIHEAP grantees have flexibility to design their programs, within very broad federal guidelines, to meet the needs of their citizens.
In Utah, LIHEAP funding is managed through the Home Energy Assistance Target (HEAT) program, which is handled by the state or Association of Governments (AOG).
The Mountainland AOG provides direct oversight for assistance to local government agencies in Utah, Wasatch, and Summit Counties.
Local community-based agencies that implement innovative plans to help LIHEAP eligible households reduce their energy vulnerability can receive these funds.
Participation in this program is optional, but if non-federal dollars are reported, the grantee can receive additional LIHEAP funds.
The program, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), is funded by grants appropriated from the federal government.
This funding supplements $3.065 billion in grants made available earlier in the year through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
The funding serves to help families pay their heating and electricity, as well as make weather-related improvements to their homes.
[6] The United States Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) was created in 1976 to help low-income families reduce energy consumption and costs.
WAP is governed by various federal regulations designed to help manage and account for the resources provided by the Department of Energy (DOE).
In Butte, Montana, the Energy Assistance office and Weatherization departments (which are part of the Human Resources Council, District XII) are in charge of LIHEAP and WAP.
Over the past decade, funding for LIHEAP has trended closely with winter fuel prices, except for the federal fiscal years of 2009–2011, when funding leapt above the winter fuel price index tracked by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).
The President's budget proposal in 2012 significantly reduced allocation amounts to "return LIHEAP funding to historic levels received for 2008 prior to energy price spikes."
Changes in future funding will need to consider the efficacy of program management, energy costs, the number of recipients, and other potential sources of assistance.
The recent decrease in allocations prior to 2008 levels may not be enough to handle the continued climbing of heating costs and its effect on many households with low incomes.
This may be illustrated in the following chart showing the increase in households served by the program in relation to the amount of LIHEAP funds allocated to the State of Utah.
Some statistics of note for the State of Utah include: Coordination with Outside Programs In addition to providing matching funds through the Leveraging Incentive Program, LIHEAP strives to coordinate efforts with private utility companies and non-profits where federal funding is not available.
