Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a video press conference to announce the $360,015,351 in federal funding she helped secure for New York through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The money will help thousands of households across the state afford their heating bills and make cost-effective home energy repairs this winter. She also announced her bipartisan push to secure additional funding for LIHEAP to make sure that as many qualifying families as possible get the assistance they need to stay safe and warm throughout the coming months.
“LIHEAP provides a lifeline for low-income families and seniors and I’m proud to have helped secure $360 million in LIHEAP funds to extend this lifeline to thousands of New Yorkers this winter,” said Senator Gillibrand. “But we know from past years that this money will not be enough to provide assistance to everyone who qualifies for it. That’s why I’m also calling for additional supplemental LIHEAP funding to help ensure that as many New Yorkers as possible receive aid. I’m committed to securing it.”
The full text of Senator Gillibrand’s bipartisan letter to White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra calling for the Biden administration to include additional LIHEAP funds in any supplemental request for FY24 appropriations is available here.
New York State’s LIHEAP program is called the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP). As of July, more than 1.7 million benefits totaling $428 million had been authorized for New York State households through HEAP in FY23. The program provides benefits to lower the cost of heating and cooling; emergency benefits to meet households’ immediate energy needs; and financial assistance to help homeowners repair or replace inoperable or unsafe heating equipment.
Starting on November 1, 2023, households in New York City can apply for the HEAP Regular benefit online at access.nyc.gov. Households outside New York City can apply at myBenefits.ny.gov. All NYS households, whether or not in New York City, can also apply in person at their HEAP Local District Contact, or in writing by mailing a completed application to their HEAP Local District Contact. Starting January 2, 2024, households can apply for the HEAP Emergency benefit in person or by phone through their HEAP Local District Contact. There is no online option.