Help with heating bills now available for some Pa. residents

This article was originally published by WESA. As temperatures drop and heating bills climb, help is available for Pennsylvanians struggling to keep their homes warm. Applications are open for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, also known as LIHEAP. Through April, eligible households can apply for a one-time cash grant to help cover heating costs. Grants range in amount from $200 to $1,000. The money does not need to be repaid. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, more than 25,000 Allegheny County households received LIHEAP assistance grants last winter, totaling more than $8 million dollars in cash grants. The average payment amount in Allegheny County was $321.65. In addition to LIHEAP cash grants, crisis payments available to those who are experiencing a heating emergency. Peoples Natural Gas spokesperson Nick Paradise said it’s a good idea to apply sooner than later. “We encourage people not to wait until they’re in a crisis situation to apply fo