BOSTON — Governor Maura Healey announced Wednesday that the Trump Administration has finally released federal funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, ending a delay that left thousands of families waiting for help as winter set in.
The funding, which was held up for more than a month, became available yesterday, allowing Massachusetts to begin processing applications immediately.
“For more than a month, President Trump has forced American families to wait in the cold,” Governor Healey said in a statement. “As we hit cold winter weather, we are relieved that funds are finally flowing now, and families can apply for help heating their homes. Our team has worked to make this funding available immediately, because our families cannot afford to wait.”
LIHEAP, known locally as the Massachusetts Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), helps more than 150,000 households—representing over 300,000 residents—afford heating costs each winter. The program’s funding typically arrives in early November, but this year’s allocation was delayed by the federal government shutdown. Even after the government reopened on November 13, the Trump Administration took nearly three additional weeks to release the funds, a delay Healey sharply criticized.
Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus emphasized the program’s importance, saying in a statement, “Home energy assistance is one of the most important tools we have to keep people safe in the winter. For many of the households we serve each year, HEAP is the difference between a warm home and an impossible choice between heat, food, and medicine.”
During the funding gap, the Healey-Driscoll Administration used leftover federal dollars from last year to help households facing heating emergencies. The Department of Public Utilities also extended its shut-off moratorium through April 1, 2026, ensuring vulnerable residents would not lose service during the coldest months.
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