Saturday, March 25, 2006
The program is for low-income families having trouble paying heating bills.
COLUMBUS -- Gov. Bob Taft has announced that the deadline to apply for the Emergency Home Energy Assistance Program has been extended to April 28.
The original deadline was Friday. The deadline extension is a result of additional funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which was recently approved by Congress.
LIHEAP is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with funds for Ohioans administered by the Ohio Department of Development.
Where the help is going
Ohio is expected to receive an additional $58.6 million from HHS, which will be used to extend the EHEAP program for an additional month. EHEAP, a program within LIHEAP, provides assistance once per heating season to eligible households that have been disconnected, are being threatened by disconnection or have less than a 10-day supply of bulk fuel.
Qualifying for EHEAP is dependent on the size of the household and total gross household income over the past 13 weeks, which must be at or below 17.5 percent of the 2005-2006 federal poverty guidelines.
For information about HEAP, EHEAP or other energy assistance programs are available for low-income individuals, call the toll-free hot line at (800) 282-0880. Customer service representatives are available between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, with automated telephone service available 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week. The hearing impaired may dial (800) 686-1557 for assistance. Information is also available on the HEAP Web site at www.odod.state.oh.us/cdd/ocs/heap.htm.