The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released more than $39 million in low-income heating assistance funds for households in Maine, Sen. Susan Collins’ office announced Tuesday.
Funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, had been delayed for weeks by the federal government shutdown, which ended last month after spanning a record 43 days. Without federal support, the state reshuffled some money to get benefits to the program’s most vulnerable participants, but it warned that the move was not sustainable.
Maine’s new allocation includes roughly $38.3 million for the state and about $1.5 million for tribal governments throughout Maine, Collins’ office said.
“LIHEAP funding provides vital relief to thousands of Mainers, helping them avoid the constant worry of having to choose between heating their homes and covering other basic necessities,” Collins said in a written statement.
The announcement came as families throughout the state faced Maine’s first significant snowstorm of the year. In Portland, the National Weather Service predicted a high temperature of 31 degrees.
Maine gets about $40 million in federal LIHEAP funding each year, according to MaineHousing, the quasi-state agency that administers the program. Of that, $26 million covers heating assistance for residents, while the rest goes to other programs and administrative costs.
Heating assistance amounts range based on factors like household income and demographics. Benefits are delivered in the form of a one-time payment that is generally sent directly to fuel vendors and appears as a credit on participants’ bills.
