With the first day of winter less than two weeks away, North Carolina is now accepting applications for low-income household heating assistance.
Older adults and people with disabilities are now able to apply for the state’s Low Income Energy Assistance Program, which is run by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
The program uses federal funds to help low-income households with their heating costs. A direct, one-time payment to the heating vendor will be made to offset the high costs of warming a house or apartment during the cold weather months.
Applications for any household with a person 60 or older or receiving disability services are now available. Households applying for the first time must include at least one resident who meets eligibility requirements, has an income equal to or less than 130 percent of the federal poverty limit, and is responsible for the heating cost.
All other eligible households can start applying on January 3.
According to a news release, last year the program provided heating assistance to more than 168,000 households.