Home heating program boosts aid to those in need as energy costs rise

New Yorkers enrolled in a state program that helps pay household heating bills will get more aid this year, even as rising energy costs will sap some of their buying power. 

Enrollment in the Home Energy Assistance Program, also known as HEAP, opens Tuesday, according to a news release from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office that encouraged people in need to apply. This year, the program, which is first-come, first served, will provide up to $976 to low-and middle-income households and senior citizens.

Benefits in the program increased this year 33% for households that heat with oil, kerosene or propane, 14% for households that heat with electricity or natural gas and 21% for households that heat with wood, wood pellets, coal or corn. 

But supply issues and war in Ukraine are expected to drive up energy costs, experts say. Across the Northeast United States, bills for those heating with oil have risen  about 25% over last year, 28% for those heating with natural gas, said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.

The typical New York natural gas bill will hit $1,100 this year, up from $900 last year, he said, though Long Island costs are probably lower because its temperatures tend to be warmer than upstate. The “bottom line is that the cost of home energy will be very expensive this year and unaffordable for many,” he said.

Wolfe worries that the program’s funding “could run out this winter if Congress does not step in and provide additional funding,” he said. Congress could revisit the matter in December when it revisits funding for fiscal 2023, he said. 

A spokesman for the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, which administers the federally funded HEAP, said in an email that the state “anticipates having enough funding for the program this heating season.” 

Last year the state received $387.3 million from the $4.8 billion national funding, but no formal allocation has been made for the coming year, he said.  

HEAP benefits went to 95,086   households in Suffolk County and 17,930 in Nassau, averaging $588 and $528, respectively, for fiscal 2022.

A family of four may have a maximum gross monthly income of $5,485, or an annual gross income of $65,829, and still qualify for HEAP benefits. Sign-up information is at https://mybenefits.ny.gov/mybenefits/begin, and applications for assistance are accepted through local organizations listed at https://otda.ny.gov/programs/heap/contacts/. 

New Yorkers who receive HEAP assistance but fall behind on utility bills may qualify for a one-time emergency benefit starting Jan. 3. Benefit programs for furnace and boiler upkeep are open now.

By Nicholas Spangler

nicholas.spangler@newsday.comspanglernewsday

Nicholas Spangler is a general assignment reporter and has worked at Newsday since 2010.