The rising costs of home heating and cooling can place a significant burden on low-income households. And, as the summer comes with all those heatwaves, and your health (and your beloved ones’) could be at risk. That’s where the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) comes to your rescue.
This federal-run program provides vital assistance to eligible low-income households, aiming to help them manage and meet their immediate home heating and cooling needs. In California, this program is more than important due to the high temperatures to be expected in the Summer of 2023. If you’re thinking about applying for the LIHEAP allowances, let’s learn together how to do it.
The LIHEAP program in California: What do you qualify for?
To support your application for the LIHEAP allowances, you will likely need to provide several documents. These may include proof of income, identification documents, utility bills, rental agreements, and other relevant paperwork. Make sure you have copies of all required documents ready to submit with your application.
Although the LIHEAP program works with federal funds, there are numerous subdivisions within California that can help you, depending on the help you require. These categories are:
- The Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), that provides a one-time payment to help balance the household’s economy, regarding the impact of the utility bills.
- The Energy Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP), which is set to give aid to low-income households that are in a critical situation. The qualifying households are, for example, those receiving a 24-48 hour disconnect notice or service termination by their utility company. Another qualifying family must be one that are facing a crisis that could put at risk their lives.
- The LIHEAP Weatherization program allows the household to get free energy efficiency upgrades. This is also oriented at low-income households, and must help lower their monthly utility bills while also improving the health and safety of the household’s occupants.
You must meet these requirements if you want to qualify for LIHEAP in California
LIHEAP eligibility is based on income, household size, and the presence of vulnerable individuals. Regarding the income limit, the households must be under the next chart (size of the family and monthly income):
- 1 person: $2,700.17
- 2 people: $3,531.00
- 3 people: $4,361.83
- 4 people: $5,192.75
- 5 people: $6,023.59
- 6 people: $6,854.43
- 7 people: $7,010.21
- 8 people: $7,166.00
- 9 people: $7,321.78
- 10 people: $7,477.56
- More than 10: add $155.78 for each additional person.
To find the local LIHEAP agency, you can check the official LIHEAP website from the Government of California, clicking here, or call 866-675-6623.