ALLENTOWN, Pa. — PPL and Gov. Josh Shapiro want all Pennsylvania residents — including those in Lehigh and Northampton counties — to know there is help keeping the heat and lights on this winter.
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) grants are back and available for the cold-weather season.
LIHEAP is a federal grant program that helps customers pay winter energy bills or avoid heating emergencies. It’s open and accepting applications through April 2025. The LIHEAP application period for cash and crisis grants is open from Nov. 4, 2024, to April 4, 2025.
“With costs increasing for many of our daily necessities and the colder winter temperatures setting in, we understand our customers may be facing financial struggles."Melinda Stumpf, PPL
Both homeowners and renters are eligible, and they don’t need to have a past-due balance to apply, the company said in a release Tuesday.
“With costs increasing for many of our daily necessities and the colder winter temperatures setting in, we understand our customers may be facing financial struggles,” said Melinda Stumpf, director of Customer Programs at PPL Electric Utilities.
“We want to help our customers stay comfortable throughout this season.”
LIHEAP offers up to $2,000 in grants to help eligible customers with their winter heating bills.
“Every Pennsylvanian deserves the dignity and peace of mind of knowing they can heat their homes and keep themselves and their families warm and safe during the darkest and coldest months of the year,” said PA Dept. of Human Services Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh in a release earlier this month.
Options for paying those heating bills
LIHEAP assistance is available either in cash or crisis grants that are distributed directly to a household’s utility company or home heating fuel provider. Individuals or households do not have to repay assistance received through the grants.
Grants range from $200 to $1,000. Only one cash grant per LIHEAP season is permitted.
LIHEAP Crisis grants are available for individuals and households in jeopardy of having or have already had, their heating utility service terminated, or those who are out of or have less than two weeks’ worth of deliverable fuel, such as fuel oil, propane, coal, or wood.
Customers must apply for LIHEAP every year. It does not carry over automatically for those approved — or denied — in the past. Financial eligibility for LIHEAP is for those with incomes at or below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Limit. For an individual, that is a gross income of $22,590 per year, and for a family of four, that is a gross income of $46,800 per year.
PPL offers a variety of other assistance programs to ease heating and other electric costs.
- OnTrack — fixed monthly payments and referrals to energy-saving programs for income-eligible customers. Also offers debt forgiveness for past-due balances.
- WRAP — helps reduce monthly electricity use, reducing bills for income-eligible customers.
- Operation HELP — provides cash grants to income-eligible customers struggling to pay their electric bills.
Additionally, payment arrangements help customers pay down an overdue balance over time.
Budget billing averages a customer’s electric use over the entire year and then levels cost out evenly month to month for more predictable bills.
Bill due date flexibility for customers up to date with bills, they can pick the monthly bill due date to better fit with their income schedule.
To find out about PPL's assistance programs, apply online or call 1-800-342-5775 for more information.
