If you are facing high heating bills, you should be happy to know this. North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) has confirmed that the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) will provide an additional resource to help keep your house warm during the winter months. Application for LIHEAP assistance will begin taking applications from October 1st, 2024, and if you are accepted, you can receive heat assistance from October until May.
How LIHEAP Can Help You
LIHEAP is designed to assist households with lower incomes, ensuring that you don’t have to pay an overwhelming portion of your income just to stay warm. In the past year, over 14,000 households across North Dakota received help from LIHEAP, with a total of $11.2 million given in support to cover energy costs. This year, LIHEAP will provide even more assistance to help make heating costs manageable.
What’s New This Year?
One of the transformations this particular year carries is how the assistance amounts are computed. In the past, some families wound up paying as much as 14% of their income on heating costs. Nonetheless, with the new assistance calculations, one will not have to contribute more than six percent of his or her income to heat a house. This means that accommodating your household expenditure’s affordability and controlling general housing expenditure becomes easier.
How much assistance you receive will also depend on the number of people in the household, the gross family income, and the type of fuel used for the heating of the house. Therefore, this provides an individual approach to the program and ensures that the assistance rendered is appropriate for the client.
Who Can Apply?
Both homeowners and renters can apply for LIHEAP. So, whether you own your home or rent it, you may qualify for this assistance to keep your home warm during the long winter months.
More Than Just Heating Costs
LIHEAP is not limited to assisting with heating expenses only. The scheme may equally cover weatherization services that aim at improving the energy efficiency of the house, thus reducing heating expenses in the future. Furthermore, LIHEAP can also be used to cover the expenses of purchasing, fixing, or replacing heating-cooling appliances such as a furnace or an air conditioner.
How to Apply
Applying for LIHEAP is easy and can be done in a few different ways. You can apply online at the North Dakota Health and Human Services website at hhs.nd.gov/applyforhelp. If you prefer, you can visit your local human services zone office to apply in person or mail in your application. If you need help with filling out the application or providing the necessary documents, there’s help available. You can contact Community Options, a partner agency, toll-free at (800) 823-2417 or 711 (TTY) for assistance.
Don’t Miss Out on Help
With heating costs rising, LIHEAP could be the support you need to get through the colder months without stressing over your energy bills. Be sure to apply starting October 1 to take advantage of this program and keep your home warm and comfortable through the fall, winter, and spring.
