Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

Purpose

The purpose of the Georgia Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is to provide appropriate and timely financial assistance to:

• Low-income eligible households,
• Energy crisis assistance to households experiencing heating or cooling emergencies that are life threatening,
• Provide long-term, low-cost residential weatherization assistance

Program Description

The Georgia Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), is a Federally-funded program that helps low-income households with their home energy bills. This assistance can reduce the risk of health and safety problems such as illness, fire, or disconnection. The Georgia LIHEAP program may be able to offer you one or more of the following types of assistance:

• Energy Bill payment assistance.
• Energy crisis assistance.
• Weatherization and energy-related minor home repairs.

Georgia LIHEAP Eligibility Requirements

The basic requirements that need to be met in order to receive financial assistance from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program include the following:

• The applicant needs to be a U.S. citizen or legally admitted immigrant.
• Their total gross annual household income needs to be at or below 60% of the State's Median Income. View Eligibility Guidelines
• The applicant needs to have full responsibility for paying the cost of energy bill for the primary home heating source.

The application period will normally begin the first work day of November, however, it is only open for the homebound, the elderly (age 65 & over), and those with life-threatening circumstances. The Winter LIHEAP program opens for the general public on the first work day in December. LIHEAP applicants are served on a first-come, first-serve basis by each agency, for the counties that they serve. So apply early before funding runs out.

How many households are helped by the program

The LIHEAP program assisted 129,446 households in Federal Fiscal Year 2016.

How to contact the LIHEAP program in your area

Applications for all LIHEAP services are made through a local Community Action Agency. The assistance is available in all 159 counties in Georgia. You can locate Community Action Agencies by clicking on www.georgiacaa.org. The State LIHEAP Office number is 404-657-3427.