Heating help available for Mainers

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins Thursday announced that the Department of Health and Human Services has released $2.6 billion in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds, of which Maine will receive $13.1 million.
    “In the long term, our nation must embrace a comprehensive strategy to expand and diversify American energy resources, use less, and develop alternative sources of energy,” Collins said. “However, in the short-term, we must provide adequate funding for this essential program that will help many low-income families and seniors heat their homes this winter.”
    Each year, 4.5 million low-income families, including about 48,000 households in Maine, rely on LIHEAP to assist with the costs of heating their homes. LIHEAP is a federal grant program that provides states with annual funding to operate home energy assistance programs for low-income households. In addition to helping to pay energy bills for low-income families and the elderly, LIHEAP helps to fund energy crisis intervention programs, low-cost residential weatherization and other energy-related home repairs.