638.2 Allowable uses for LIHEAP Grants

All LIHEAP grants

• Benefits may not be used for security deposits, theft of services charges, service maintenance contracts, tank leases or rental payments, finance charges, maintenance or repairs of heating systems, or meter installation fees.
• Benefits may be used for the cost of an added charge for off-hours or off-route delivery service, reconnect fees, late payment fees, tank setting fees, and/or minor furnace start-up costs.

Cash grants

• Benefits are available until they are exhausted or until June 30 of the year immediately following the LIHEAP program year in which they were authorized.

• Used to cover household fuel purchases only. Any unused amount of the grant should be credited to the household's account for future purchases and aid in the resolution of potential heating crisis.

• Can be used to pay for fuel purchases that were made on or after October 1st of the heating season in which the benefits were approved.

• Households enrolled in Customer Assistance Programs (CAP) will have their funds applied to past due CAP payments, their current CAP payment, and the remaining funds will be credited to future CAP payments. No funds may be applied to CAP customer's unbilled usage amounts. LIHEAP funds may not be applied to pre-program arrearages until June 30 of the year immediately following the LIHEAP program year in which they were authorized. Prior to the public utility refunding any remaining LIHEAP Cash component benefits, the funds can be applied towards any remaining CAP pre-program arrearages provided the utility does not alter its CAP forgiveness policy during the federal fiscal year.  The funds may not be applied to any pre-program arrearages previously forgiven by the public utility.

Example: Any LIHEAP benefit issued during the 2022-2023 LIHEAP season can be applied towards the pre-program arrears in June 2024.

Crisis grants

• Must be used to resolve energy supply shortage emergencies either by providing fuel to a household that is without fuel or in imminent danger of being without fuel, or to restore home-heating services to a household that is without heat, or in imminent danger of being without heat, due to a termination of service by a utility company.

Updated August 15, 2025, replacing August 20, 2024