HHS Awards Over $385 Million to Help Households Lower Cooling and Heating Costs

Today, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra announced the award of more than $385 million to help families and individuals with their energy costs. This release follows recent significant investments in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) through the American Rescue Plan (ARP), the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and congressional appropriations.

LIHEAP provides households with energy assistance, including help to lower cooling and heating bills, crisis assistance, weatherization, and budget counseling to help achieve safe and healthy indoor air quality and temperature. LIHEAP’s assistance with weatherization and energy-related minor home repairs, including the use of renewable energy, helps reduce energy consumption and make homes more energy efficient.

“HHS and the Biden-Harris Administration are working closely to maximize LIHEAP assistance for the families and individuals that need it,” said Secretary Becerra. “This funding builds off of the historic ARP investment to continue to promote weatherization and clean energy. LIHEAP is essential to protecting the health of households across the country by ensuring safe and healthy indoor temperatures.”

Today’s release is the fourth LIHEAP funding release over the past year. In May 2021, HHS released $4.5 billion in supplemental LIHEAP funding from ARP. This historic funding more than doubled the typical annual LIHEAP appropriation. HHS also released $3.37 billion in annual LIHEAP funding through the regular appropriations process. Furthermore, HHS released the first $100 million installment of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Together, these funding releases total more than $8.3 billion – the largest investment in a single year since the program was established in 1981. HHS anticipates being able to serve more households in Fiscal Year 2022 than ever before in the program’s history due to this unprecedented level of funding. A state-by-state breakdown across all four funding releases can be found below.

ACF Assistant Secretary January Contreras, who oversees LIHEAP, stated, “This LIHEAP funding release comes at an important time as households across the country continue to struggle with higher energy bills. The funds released today will allow us to carry out our agency’s mission to promote the well-being of the children, families and communities we serve.”

LIHEAP provides a vital lifeline to households struggling to maintain continuous, safe and affordable home energy services. As the nation grapples with the impacts of climate change and the threat of extreme weather, which disproportionately impact communities of color and lower-income households, LIHEAP is a critical tool to promote both energy justice and racial equity. 

Today’s funding release coincides with the eve of Earth Day, a day to raise awareness of environmental issues and the urgency of climate change. “It is very appropriate that this funding release aligns with Earth Day given the link between LIHEAP and environmental and racial justice. We know that lower-income households and communities of color are more likely to be unable to afford adequate heating and/or air conditioning, and are more likely to be significantly affected by heat stress and natural disasters related to climate change. The additional LIHEAP funds released today will help us to address these disparities,” stated Director of ACF Office of Community Services Dr. Lanikque Howard.

Individuals interested in applying for energy assistance should visit energyhelp.us or call the National Energy Assistance Referral hotline toll-free at: 1-866-674-6327.

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HHS LIHEAP Funding Awards Available in FY 2022

State/Territoryi ARP Award (May 4, 2021)ii FY 2022 CR Award (November 1, 2021)iii FY 2022 Infrastructure Act Award (January 25, 2022) FY 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act Award (April 21, 2022)iv Total Awards Available in FY 2022
Alabama $41,305,882 $56,406,127 $2,682,444 $6,652,710 $107,047,163
Alaska $14,390,003 $10,212,175 $313,945 $1,168,240 $26,084,363
Arizona $23,569,301 $26,214,931 $1,688,238 $3,539,429 $55,011,899
Arkansas $30,164,262 $29,809,774 $809,945 $3,461,419 $64,245,400
California $203,610,805 $179,228,041 $4,177,848 $20,649,415 $407,666,109
Colorado $71,759,071 $53,827,678 $1,545,991 $6,154,339 $133,287,079
Connecticut $94,096,941 $65,781,175 $2,003,413 $7,491,598 $169,373,127
Delaware $12,883,578 $12,188,013 $355,385 $1,413,086 $26,840,062
District of Columbia $14,560,741 $10,333,343 $317,672 $1,182,101 $26,393,857
Florida $80,777,150 $89,844,309 $5,785,953 $12,130,404 $188,537,816
Georgia $63,876,744 $71,046,847 $4,575,402 $9,592,448 $149,091,441
Hawaii $4,995,879 $4,719,446 $166,951 $547,391 $10,429,667
Idaho $26,673,978 $18,929,763 $581,945 $2,165,504 $48,351,190
Illinois $252,788,881 $155,362,999 $3,175,315 $17,479,037 $428,806,232
Indiana $114,066,354 $70,324,816 $1,322,623 $7,445,267 $193,159,060
Iowa $78,507,818 $49,844,389 $937,361 $5,277,033 $134,566,601
Kansas $38,821,123 $33,327,874 $235,620 $3,835,029 $76,219,646
Kentucky $61,571,174 $51,647,357 $1,572,878 $5,944,024 $120,735,433
Louisiana $41,415,195 $50,324,275 $1,307,770 $5,897,192 $98,944,432
Maine $55,172,305 $35,028,740 $658,740 $3,708,498 $94,568,283
Maryland $73,506,086 $69,851,450 $1,505,787 $8,090,410 $152,953,733
Massachusetts $187,074,431 $120,461,255 $3,972,082 $13,640,497 $325,148,265
Michigan $238,219,248 $146,524,948 $2,749,484 $15,510,284 $403,003,964
Minnesota $167,346,852 $106,248,039 $1,998,074 $11,248,495 $286,841,460
Mississippi $33,752,229 $33,175,153 $932,139 $3,851,250 $71,710,771
Missouri $103,843,419 $75,090,936 $2,284,410 $8,569,578 $189,788,343
Montana $27,134,445 $19,256,542 $591,992 $2,202,887 $49,185,866
Nebraska $41,180,965 $29,208,760 $898,443 $3,341,442 $74,629,610
Nevada $11,597,336 $12,899,126 $830,700 $1,741,587 $27,068,749
New Hampshire $35,498,757 $25,192,456 $774,475 $2,881,938 $64,347,626
New Jersey $172,973,948 $112,665,663 $3,945,446 $12,766,391 $302,351,448
New Mexico $22,314,041 $18,984,981 $0 $2,145,210 $43,444,232
New York $535,676,404 $340,099,422 $6,395,824 $36,006,375 $918,178,025
North Carolina $86,970,460 $96,322,663 $3,031,982 $11,251,451 $197,576,556
North Dakota $27,147,464 $19,265,782 $592,275 $2,203,944 $49,209,465
Ohio $226,879,639 $140,491,616 $4,470,005 $15,847,745 $387,689,005
Oklahoma $31,955,095 $38,316,431 $872,191 $4,497,380 $75,641,097
Oregon $54,008,001 $33,704,628 $1,081,558 $3,804,103 $92,598,290
Pennsylvania $297,671,482 $182,800,295 $3,417,885 $19,353,129 $503,242,791
Rhode Island $30,818,515 $21,871,020 $672,368 $2,501,975 $55,863,878
South Carolina $35,117,531 $45,075,688 $2,923,507 $6,086,407 $89,203,133
South Dakota $24,482,535 $17,374,556 $534,136 $1,987,594 $44,378,821
Tennessee $64,310,966 $66,094,629 $1,897,763 $7,692,249 $139,995,607
Texas $134,407,308 $149,494,402 $9,627,413 $20,184,105 $313,713,228
Utah $32,932,053 $23,370,940 $718,478 $2,673,560 $59,695,031
Vermont $26,607,583 $18,882,643 $580,497 $2,160,115 $48,230,838
Virginia $90,218,680 $88,899,724 $2,833,722 $10,327,646 $192,279,772
Washington $86,208,581 $57,425,673 $1,053,477 $6,499,393 $151,187,124
West Virginia $40,464,237 $28,716,314 $882,807 $3,285,056 $73,348,414
Wisconsin $150,636,196 $95,638,491 $1,798,553 $10,125,261 $258,198,501
Wyoming $12,721,025 $9,029,982 $276,494 $1,032,995 $23,060,496
Subtotal to States $4,428,682,697 $3,316,836,280 $98,359,406 $379,244,616 $8,223,122,999
Subtotal to Tribes/ Tribal Organizations $48,803,948 $38,434,012 $1,132,653 $4,405,488 $92,776,101
American Samoa $372,429 $278,797 $8,402 $31,882 $691,510
Guam $816,537 $611,253 $18,422 $69,900 $1,516,112
Northern Mariana Islands $283,604 $212,305 $6,398 $24,280 $526,587
Puerto Rico $20,268,659 $15,172,946 $457,298 $1,735,097 $37,634,000
Virgin Islands $772,126 $578,007 $17,421 $66,097 $1,433,651
Subtotal to Territories $22,513,355 $16,853,308 $507,941 $1,927,256 $41,801,860
Total to All Recipients $4,500,000,000 $3,372,123,600 $100,000,000 $385,577,360 $8,357,700,960
    i. All funds to state recipients are net of tribal set-asides.

  • back to note i
  • ii. ARP is the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. ARP awards show the full LIHEAP amounts awarded to ARP recipients for use in FY 2021 or FY 2022. They don’t necessarily show the amounts of these funds that are available to these recipients at the beginning of FY 2022.

  • back to note ii
  • iii. These figures differ from the ones presented in LIHEAP DCL 2022-01 because of changes to two tribes and the resulting redistributions that set states and territories at no less than their FFY 2020 levels.

  • back to note iii
  • iv. Excludes the $38,003,040 that the Secretary is authorized to transfer under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022.

  • back to note iv

Originally published at https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/04/21/hhs-awards-over-385-million-help-households-lower-cooling-and-heating-costs.html

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