The following individuals and members of their households are considered to be responsible for home-heating costs: 55 Pa. Code § 601.31(2); LIHEAP State Plan § 601.31(2); PLA 15989-605
Homeowners and renters, including people living in subsidized housing, who pay an energy provider directly for home-heating fuel or utility service.
Renters who pay for heat indirectly for their residence as an undesignated part of rent. Households that rent with heat included and roomers receive half of the benefit amount to which they would otherwise be entitled.
NOTE: Renters, including people living in subsidized housing, are ineligible if their rent includes an undesignated amount for heat and is based on a fixed percentage of their income or on their source of income.
If a household in subsidized housing that has been paying for rent and utilities as a fixed portion of its income has to start paying an energy provider for any or all of its main heating costs, that household may be eligible for a LIHEAP cash benefit. If a household in subsidized housing that has been paying for rent and utilities as a fixed portion of its income has to start paying an energy provider for any or all of its main or secondary heating costs, that household may be eligible for a LIHEAP crisis benefit.
If the household shares a fuel tank, the person applying for LIHEAP benefits must prove that he or she pays to heat the home. Only the person who pays the fuel provider can apply for LIHEAP benefits. If two persons share a tank, they can both apply if they can prove they have separate addresses, account numbers or heating bills.
If a LIHEAP applicant cuts wood or receives free firewood for use as the household’s main or secondary heating source, he or she is not eligible for benefits.
Applicant households must permanently live in Pennsylvania. In situations where the household is not living in its permanent home, the household must provide proof of the emergency or situation beyond the household’s control that forces the household to live somewhere else. Examples of proof could include a doctor’s note or a letter from the board of health saying why the household is not living in its permanent home. 55 Pa. Code § 601.106; LIHEAP State Plan § 601.105
Some applicants cannot get accounts in their own names because of a bad credit history. Others may get heating bills in the name of a deceased husband or wife. If an applicant’s bill is in someone else’s name, the CAO can ask the applicant to prove that he or she is responsible for paying the home-heating costs. 55 Pa. Code § 601.106; LIHEAP State Plan § 601.104(d)
Examples of proof include a canceled check to the heating company or a bank statement showing a payment to the heating company.
The applicant must provide written proof, besides the heating bill, that the applicant resides at the address. The applicant also must provide in writing the reason why the bill is in the name of a non-household person’s name.
If proof of heating responsibility is not provided at the time of application, the CAO will send a pending notice requiring such proof.
In situations when the heating bill is in the landlord’s name and the household is responsible for paying the heating bill directly to the vendor, a landlord statement or a copy of the lease indicating this arrangement is acceptable proof. If the heating responsibility for the household cannot be established, the application will be denied.
NOTE: Energy bills cannot be in the name of a child, even if the child lives in the household.
Some energy providers do not take part in LIHEAP. An applicant can decide whether he or she would like to switch to a vendor that takes part in LIHEAP. In some situations, a direct payment can be made to an eligible household that receives energy from a nonparticipating energy provider.
For example, a household can receive a direct payment if no participating energy providers serve the area where it lives or if a nonparticipating energy provider owns the household’s fuel tank.
Some fuel providers make a scheduled delivery approximately every 30 days during the heating season and approximately every 45 days during the nonheating season. When a person applies for crisis benefits, the CAO must contact the fuel provider to find out if the household receives automatic deliveries.
If the vendor says that the household has been dropped from the automatic-delivery schedule for nonpayment, the household may be considered to be in a crisis situation.
For customers whose service has been disconnected at their previous address and need service connected at their new address, DPW will allow a regulated utility to request 50 percent of the customers’ back balance from the previous address and a reconnection fee in order to restore service.
If a LIHEAP cash grant exceeds 50 percent of the customer’s back balance and reconnection fee, the regulated utility must apply the remainder of the cash grant to the household’s future bills.
Utilities also must agree to keep service on through the moratorium period and enroll the client in a CAP or budget program if the customer is eligible.
Applicants who are responsible for paying their main source of heat directly to a vendor, but have the bill paid by someone outside of the household because the household has zero/minimal income, are considered to have a heating responsibility and are therefore eligible for LIHEAP benefits. LIHEAP State Plan § 601.31(2)(i)(a)
NOTE: A household is not considered to have a heating responsibility if it is agreed that an agency is always responsible for the heating bill. Examples include someone in subsidized housing who has the bill paid by a housing agency even though the bill is in the applicant’s name, or a student who has someone outside the household always paying the heat bill regardless of the student's income.
Reissued February 8, 2013, replacing October 22, 2012