HHS Awards $3.7B to Lower Home Energy Costs and Keep Households Safe and Healthy

WASHINGTON – Today, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released $3.7 billion to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help households lower their home energy costs. The funds released today help households across the country maintain safe and healthy indoor temperatures, particularly during the winter season.

LIHEAP is administered by ACF’s Office of Community Services (OCS), which releases annual funding to states, tribes and territories who provide direct assistance to households with low incomes struggling to afford their energy bills. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this year’s allocation includes an additional $100.1 million on top of regular appropriations to help families and individuals with heating and cooling assistance, home energy equipment repair and replacement, and some energy-related home repairs.

“At HHS we are committed to ensuring that all households across the country are safe and healthy, including their indoor temperatures. That is what LIHEAP does,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “This critical program protects against the negative health impacts of unsafe indoor air temperatures, particularly for those who are most vulnerable, including older adults, young children and people with disabilities. With the help of LIHEAP, households across the country can afford their energy bills without compromising their ability to pay for other essentials like housing, food, and health care.”

“ACF is committed to lowering costs for America’s families, and LIHEAP helps millions of households keep their homes at safe temperatures,” said ACF Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Hild. “LIHEAP is a lifeline to the more than one in four households struggling to pay their energy bills.”

“In addition to keeping households warm in the winter and cool in the summer, LIHEAP helps families and individuals during times of disaster,” said OCS Deputy Director Janelle George. “Households with low incomes are often disproportionately impacted by natural disasters and extreme weather; LIHEAP plays an important role in mitigating the disparate impact of climate change on the households we serve.”

In 2023, HHS launched the LIHEAP eligibility tool, a user-friendly screening tool that allows households across the country to quickly get a sense of whether they might be eligible for LIHEAP in their local area. Since its launch, the LIHEAP eligibility tool has assisted more than 900,000 households answer questions about their household and receive information about potential eligibility and where to go for assistance. Individuals and families may visit energyhelp.us and click “Do I Qualify” or call the National Energy Assistance Referral hotline toll-free at: 1-866-674-6327.

ACF has also released the LIHEAP heating assistance toolkit, which includes a variety of outreach materials, spotlight videos and winter safety resources designed to help keep families safe and warm during cold weather in traditional and simplified Chinese, Spanish, Diné and Yup’ik. Jurisdictions can also use LIHEAP to address extreme heat by distributing or loaning efficient air conditioning units and lowering the energy costs of cooling at home.

For a list of LIHEAP grant allotments by state/territory/tribe, please go to: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/policy-guidance/liheap-dcl-2025-01-first-funding-release-ffy-2025

For more information about other anti-poverty strategies administered by the Office of Community Services at the Administration for Children and Families, visit https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/help.