LIHEAP, which stands for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, helps families living on low incomes pay their heating bills in the form of grants. With the heating season approaching and oil prices remaining high, we wanted to share this information from LIHEAP so that customers to know how to get assistance.
General Information
The LIHEAP Client Helpline is for customers to request an application or check its status: 1-866-857-7095.
The season opens Tuesday, November 1, 2022 and is expected to close on Friday, April 28, 2023.
Customers who received a LIHEAP grant last season will receive a 2022/23 LIHEAP application or COMPASS postcard in the mail before the start of the new season. These documents have a COMPASS registration number that allows these customers to apply online before the start of the season.
Customers who didn't receive LIHEAP last season may request an application on or after November 1st by:
- Applying online at www.compass.state.pa.us (on or after November 1, 2022),
- Contacting their local County Assistance Office (CAO) by phone or in person, or
- Calling the LIHEAP Client Helpline at 1-866-857-7095.
Cash Grants
- A household can only receive one regular LIHEAP Cash grant per heating season.
- Cash grants for this season range from $300 to $1000 based on heating type, region, household annual income, and number of household members.
- Cash grants must always be used first to resolve a Crisis, even if the vendor hasn't received the funds yet.
Crisis Grants
All requests for a Crisis must be made by the customer to the County Assistance Office (CAO). The Bucks County CAO phone number is 215-781-3393 or 1-800-616-6481 (toll-free). Montgomery County CAO is 610-272-1752. Philadelphia County CAO is 215-560-1583.
- Crisis grant eligibility is based on heating emergencies where the household is without heat or within 15 days of being without heat caused by lack of fuel or utility termination.
- Customers on automatic oil delivery may receive a crisis grant if their request for Crisis is made within 15 days of being without heat and an automated delivery has not already resolved their emergency.
- 2022-23 Crisis grants range from $25 to a season maximum of $1000. Crisis grants are authorized based only on the amount needed to resolve a specific emergency such as preventing termination of a utility service or the quantity of fuel needed to fill the tank one time (the maximum $ amount will be provided by the CAO).
- If you've already applied for a Cash grant, you do not need to submit a separate application for a Crisis grant, unless you have moved or a new person has moved into the household.
You may be eligible to receive multiple Crisis grants during the season if you encounter multiple heating emergencies. However, the household may not exceed the 2022/23 season maximum of $1000. For this reason, vendors must submit Crisis claims within 30 days.
Important notes
LIHEAP customers do not automatically receive a Crisis grant, as eligibility is dependent upon the existence of a heating emergency. A CAO representative must authorize every request for a Crisis delivery or pickup.
LIHEAP Crisis will not pay for a delivery that is not authorized by the CAO or if the heating emergency is resolved before a CAO representative contacts the vendor to authorize a Crisis payment.
Each Crisis authorization is good for a one-time-only delivery or pickup of fuel. Households who are in need of an additional Crisis delivery or pickup must contact the CAO again and make another request for Crisis. A CAO
representative will evaluate eligibility and contact the vendor if a new Crisis delivery is approved.
representative will evaluate eligibility and contact the vendor if a new Crisis delivery is approved.