WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – The Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) helps low-income people pay their heating bills in the winter and air conditioning bills in the summer. Right now, that pool of money has dried up.
“This past couple of weeks, with the heat wave, the demand has gone up,” said Mary Beth Basha, National Grid.
Beating the heat can be a challenge and paying your energy bill to stay cool is worse. HEAP’s cooling assistance program aims to help New Yorkers pay their air-conditioning bills, or pay for new fans or air conditioners. But the program has been closed to applications since July 8 because it ran out of money.
“They are so funds-dependent, that once the funds are gone, you know they’re gone,” said Basha.
She says the cooling assistance program started during the pandemic and it’s not uncommon for the funds to run out.
U.S.B Senator Chuck Schumer (D. – NY) says the demand for HEAP funding is up 200% – going from 10,000 applications last summer to 30,000 this summer.
Jefferson County Office for the Aging HEAP Coordinator Sabrina Cummins says she’s seeing that increased demand locally.
“Every day we’re getting phone calls that people can’t pay their utility bills,” she said.
Cummins says she typically doesn’t get too many calls this time of year. She says the higher demand for HEAP funding might also be the result of a higher cost of living, from gas prices to grocery bills.
“I think that more people might’ve applied because they were drawing resources for other necessities,” she said.
In a news release, Governor Hochul announced actions the state would be taking to address dealing with extreme heat.
One of them is expanding HEAP availability to low and moderate-income New Yorkers.
Basha says National Grid hasn’t heard anything from the state yet about additional funding.
Senator Schumer says he’s going to push for a billion-dollar increase nationally in the upcoming federal budget.
Basha says there are a couple of other options so you can stay cool. One is through the state. The other through National Grid.
Call the utility to learn more about these.
Copyright 2022 WWNY. All rights reserved.
