Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) was designed to provide help to low-income households with a minimum of government bureaucracy and a maximum of involvement by civic institutions.

Federal dollars for LIHEAP are allocated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the states as a block grant and are disbursed under programs designed by the individual states.

The program is administered at the state and county levels by governmental agencies and implemented primarily at the local level by community action programs (CAPS), local welfare agencies, and area agencies on aging.

How it works:

This program is for the neediest of needy who must be well below the poverty line to be eligible. The assistance helps cover residential energy for heating and cooling (gas & electric) during peak months of winter and summer. The target demographics are elderly and homes with children.

The band aid fix

Though the level of funding was high for fiscal year 2006, the HEAP program faced an ongoing crisis. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, between 1981 and 2000, the number of federally eligible households rose over 49%; however, federal fuel assistance funds rose only 22%. As a consequence, the percentage of federally eligible households receiving assistance has declined sharply.

The funds that are allotted to each state can’t meet the growing needs for heating and cooling assistance. In 2006, despite an additional $1 billion added to the budget, only 15% of households that were eligible actually received assistance.

A great beginning

Of the current programs available to assist low income families only one stands out as forward thinking and solution oriented; the Home Weatherization Assistance Program (HWAP). States may allocate up to 15% of their annual grant for low-cost residential weatherization or other energy related home repair and up to 25% if they meet certain conditions and obtain a waiver from HHS. The program reduces the heating and cooling costs for low-income families by improving the energy efficiency of their homes.

This is not brain surgery

I’m just an average tax paying citizen. However, I do understand the basic principals of economic efficiency and I’d like to think my taxes are going toward a long term solution instead of paying for heating and cooling bills every single year.

Since the number of eligible households rose over 49% and the assistance funds rose only 22% and the grant money can’t meet the growing needs for heating and cooling assistance then why, when a system is clearly not working, do we keep doing the same thing every year?

Economic efficiency

An economic system is more efficient if it can provide more goods and services for society without using more resources. That being said, our current system is a temporary band aid.

Foresight & conservation

Because many low-income families are renters, they do not make energy saving improvements to their residence.

The landlord does not consider the renter’s utility bills a problem because he’s not footing the bill.

Looking into the future one should consider the consequences for continually cycling through big grant budgets via HEAP programs to maintain things as they are, then weigh the consequences for an alternative program making progress toward better conditions, economic improvement, and energy conservation.

For starters…

Rather than HEAP programs paying for monthly utility bills, the program should be targeted toward long-term energy efficiency improvements:

Give landlords incentives such as big tax breaks, grants, or no-interest loans, to update their rentals; replace old windows with energy efficient windows, add insulation, add weather-strip to doors and windows, replace old heating and cooling equipment with energy efficient equipment, etc.

This type of solution:

• Saves a huge amount of energy annually and it doesn’t just occur over one season; the improvements made to rental dwellings will last for years to come.
• Most of these improvements will pay for themselves in the long run.
• Property value will increase due to energy efficient upgrades.
• Tenants save a large amount of money on their utility bills.
• Long-term oriented.
• Wiser investment of our tax dollars to improve situation rather than the “band aid” short-term fix.

All in all, if your tire has a hole in it and the air is hissing out do you fix the tire now, or do you wait until all the air has depleted yet hope for the best?

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Posted on December 10th in Solar Information by Beth.