Oct 24, 2025 By Garrett Neese 3 min read

The opening of an annual program that helps more than 300,000 Pennsylvania households pay for home heating during winter will be delayed for a month due to the ongoing government shutdown.

The state Department of Human Services announced Tuesday it would postpone the scheduled Nov. 3 opening of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program to Dec. 3, since the government shut down before its yearly allocation could be approved.

Pennsylvania received $229 million for the program last year, and has gotten an average of $215 million. DHS gives those benefits to the utility company or home heating fuel providers of residents who need aid to cover their monthly heating bills.

“I urge Congress and the White House to recognize the serious consequences that limiting heating assistance will have on the health and safety of people in Pennsylvania,” Human Services Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh said in a release. “Congress must come together for a solution that protects people most at risk.”

As more people learn about the postponement, Maj. Erin Perez of the Salvation Army in Washington said she expects to receive a lot of calls for assistance.

They will often work with clients to help them apply for LIHEAP funding. With that option gone for the next month, “We are ready to help as much as we can,” Perez said.

That could come through the Dollar Energy Fund, a Pittsburgh organization working closely with the Salvation Army that helps low-income families with utility payments once they’ve tried all the other programs available.

Perez is still waiting to hear if those stipulations will change now that the LIHEAP funds are blocked.

“The hardest thing is that there are specific families who know that this is the time to fill out your application for LIHEAP,” Perez said. “It’s a thing they do every year to have additional assistance to pay their utility bills, and now that it’s being delayed, it’s going to cause ripples in the lives of the families in our area.”

DHS will begin taking LIHEAP applications once the federal government releases the funding. In the meantime, it is processing the applications it’s already received, though those payments will also have to wait until the shutdown ends, DHS said in the release.

Electric and gas companies also offer aid to qualifying customers. A list of those programs can be found at puc.pa.gov/about-the-puc/consumer-education/utility-assistance-programs.

Residents can also find help with immediate needs at pa-navigate.org. For local help, they can call 211 or go online to www.pa211.org.