Households in Pennsylvania, New York, Iowa and Indiana can apply for winter heating aid this season, but the shutoff protection that runs alongside it starts and ends on different dates in each state. Iowa’s runs Nov. 1 to April 1, Pennsylvania’s Dec. 1 to March 31 and Indiana’s Dec. 1 to March 15. New York’s heating aid page lists no shutoff dates at all.
Anyone behind on a gas or electric bill has a different date to watch depending on the state. In Iowa and Indiana the protection attaches to an energy-assistance application, so filing is the step that matters before the shield starts. In Pennsylvania the winter rule turns on income and payment history rather than an application, and in New York the program’s job is paying toward the bill, not blocking a shutoff…