HARRISBURG, PA — Low-income Pennsylvanians relying on heating assistance will have to wait an extra month for aid, as the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) announced a delay in the opening of the 2025-2026 Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) season.
DHS is pushing the start date back by a month, attributing the change directly to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
The federally funded LIHEAP program, which helps qualifying low-income households with their heating bills, will now be accepting applications starting December 3.
"Due to not receiving federal allocation of funds for the program," the Department of Human Services stated, the delay is unavoidable. LIHEAP is administered by DHS, which distributes benefits directly to a qualifying household’s utility company or heating fuel provider. The postponement highlights the immediate impact of the federal funding lapse on critical state-level aid programs as winter approaches.