Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
Division of Energy Assistance/OCS/ACF

Chronology of Federal Energy Assistance Programs

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FFY 1974

U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) granted $478,000 to Community Action Agencies in Maine for pilot project, known as Project Fuel

FFY 1975

US Community Services Administration's (CSA) Emergency Energy Conservation Program (EECP)--provided for a broad array of energy-related activities, including home weatherization and crisis intervention activities; $16.5 million appropriation

FFY 1976

CSA's EECP; $27.7 million appropriation

US Department of Energy's (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program was created; began with about $200 appropriation and is an ongoing program. Further information is available from the Department Energy about the program history of the Weatherization Assistance Program.

FFY 1977

CSA's Special Crisis Intervention Program (SCIP); $200 million appropriation

CSA's EECP; $110 million appropriation

FFY 1978

CSA's Emergency Energy Assistance Program (EEAP); $200 million appropriation

CSA's EECP; $65.5 million appropriation

FFY 1979

CSA's Crisis Intervention Program (CIP); $200 million appropriation

FFY 1980

Move to begin decontrolling crude oil prices and OPEC's decision in summer of 1979 to increase crude oil prices by 40 percent. HHS' involvement with federal energy assistance began in FY 1980 with the enactment of Public Law 96-126, which provided $1.6 billion to assist low income households in offsetting the effects of rapid escalation in home energy costs during the winter of 1980. FY 1980 marked the transition of energy assistance from its original focus on energy crisis intervention toward a broader approach of providing fuel assistance to prevent fuel payment emergencies through the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The funds were divided among the following programs:

• CSA's Energy Crisis Assistance Program (ECAP); funded by $400 million set-aside from LIHEAP appropriation

• HHS' special one-time energy allowance to recipients of Supplementary Security Income recipients; $400 million

• HHS' Energy Assistance Program (EAP)--block grants distributed to the states; $800 million

FFY 1981

HHS' Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP)--provided for home heating, medically necessary home cooling, and weather related and supply shortage emergencies; $1.85 billion appropriation. The FY 1981 program expanded the use of HHS funds to assist with medically necessary cooling costs along with home heating costs and weather related and supply shortage emergencies.

CSA's Energy Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP); funded by $89.4 million set-aside from LIEAP appropriation

FFY 1982

HHS began its ongoing Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)-- provides for heating, cooling, energy crisis, and low cost weatherization/other energy-related home repair assistance; began with $1.875 billion appropriation for FFY 1982

The FY 1982 program expanded the use of HHS funds to provide low-cost weatherization/other energy related home repairs. Since FY 1982, the scope of HHS' energy assistance program has remained essentially unchanged. Federal funding for LIHEAP has varied over the years.