Federal funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP is not yet know for this year.
Utility analyst Keetah Horas told the Iowa Utility Commission this week the proposed federal budget zeroed out funding, but both the Senate and House had proposed bills at the time of the shutdown to increase total funding.
She says some states have paused the program, but Iowa has not. “The Iowa profile for LIHEAP funding year 2024 indicates that the program served more than 83,000 households. This includes the one time heating assistance, year round, crisis assistance, and weatherization.” She says sign up for this winter has already begun for one group. “The early application period for households with elderly or disabled members opened on October 1st. Our latest communication with HHS reports over 15,000 applications have been received,” she says…