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High heating bills? You now have an extra two weeks to apply for up to $1,000 in assistance

The size of LIHEAP grants are dependent on household size, income, and fuel type.

LIHEAP, or the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, gives cash grants of between $200 and $1,000 to lower-income homeowners and renters who have trouble paying their heating bills.
LIHEAP, or the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, gives cash grants of between $200 and $1,000 to lower-income homeowners and renters who have trouble paying their heating bills.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

If heating bills strained your budget this winter, there’s a bit of good news.

If you live in Pennsylvania, you have two more weeks to apply for a cash grant of up to $1,000.

The deadline for LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) has been extended from Friday, April 4, to Friday, April 18.

Meant to help lower-income homeowners and renters who struggle with heating costs, the grants start at $200 and range in size depending on income, household size, and fuel source.

The program also has income limits. To be eligible in Pennsylvania, a family of four can make no more than $46,800, for example.

New Jerseyans can apply for cash grants for heating and medically necessary cooling costs until June 30, while funds last.

LIHEAP, a federal program administered by the states, also offers crisis grants of up to $1,000 to people who are experiencing an emergency, such as broken heating equipment, or are at risk of a shutoff.

The past three summers, Pennsylvania has also offered crisis cooling services, which provided eligible households with two single-room A/C units or one unit and a fan. The program saw high demand last summer, one of the warmest summers on record, and had to turn away more than 1,000 applicants.

To be eligible for the LIHEAP crisis cooling program in Pennsylvania, homeowners must have received LIHEAP help the prior winter.

This week, the small federal staff that oversees LIHEAP was laid off in the latest round of government cuts, according to multiple news outlets. It was not immediately clear how those cuts might affect the program’s future.