Maine's Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) Moves To Waiting List Starting March 28

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Maine's Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) Moves To Waiting List Starting March 28

Mar 12, 2025, 07:39 by Amanda Ouellette

As Of March 7 The Heap Has Helped More Than 29,000 Maine Households Pay For A Portion Of Their Home's Energy Costs

As Of March 7 The Heap Has Helped More Than 29,000 Maine Households Pay For A Portion Of Their Home's Energy Costs

AUGUSTA — With nearly 70 percent of available funds committed, MaineHousing’s Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) is moving to a wait-list process for completed, eligible program applications taken after 5 p.m. on March 28, 2025.

Applications will continue to be received and processed after the deadline but they will not be moved forward for benefit payment until eligible applications already in the pipeline have been paid and funding is available.

The 2024-2025 HEAP program year will close to all applications on May 30, 2025 or upon the depletion of program funds, whichever comes sooner.

This waiting list is being implemented to ensure eligible households, which have already completed the application process, have the best opportunity to receive a benefit during the current program year as the funding for this program, which first opened to applicants in July of 2024, nears exhaustion.

“As demand for this program has steadily outstripped the available resource, MaineHousing is projecting all available HEAP funding will be dispersed to eligible households by winter’s end,” MaineHousing Director Daniel Brennan said. “We will move to a wait-list system for HEAP starting on March 28. Completed applications received after that deadline will be processed in the order in which they are received and only if there is funding available after all applications received before the deadline have been processed.”

As of March 7, the 2024-2025 HEAP program has provided $17.2 million in benefits, including supplemental heating assistance to more than 29,000 homes in Maine and emergency heating assistance to more than 5,000 homes.

There is approximately $8.8 million remaining in the fund but it is expected those remaining resources will be distributed to eligible households already in the application pipeline.

MaineHousing’s program metrics for HEAP, for the last three heating seasons, can be found on the agency’s public dashboards at www.mainehousing.org.

More information about applying for HEAP can be found on MaineHousing’s HEAP program page.

The Home Energy Assistance Program, is funded each year with a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and is meant to help low to moderate income households cover a portion of their home’s energy costs.

Households that are facing an immediate heating crisis – those with less than a quarter tank of heating oil, less than 25 percent in a propane tank or less than a seven-day supply of firewood, may still be eligible for emergency assistance through the Energy Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP).

Applicants may also still be eligible for the Low-Income Assistance Program (LIAP) and for fuel supplements available within the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Program.

Those facing an immediate heating crisis are encouraged to contact their local community action agency for help or to dial 2-1-1 Maine to be connected to resources that are closest to them.

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