NEADA Study Shows Decline in LIHEAP Purchasing Power

The National Energy Assistance Directors' Association (NEADA), representing the state directors of LIHEAP, on April 19 released a study reporting that between the winter heating seasons of 2001-02 and 2004-5, the share of low- income households' heating expenditures covered by the average LIHEAP grant has been reduced.

Depending on a households' main heating fuel type, the reductions were as follows:

• Heating oil from 49.4 percent to 25.2 percent
• Natural gas from 52.3 percent to 33.4 percent
• Propane from 35.5 percent to 23.1 percent.

According to NEADA, the decline is due to two factors: First, the price of home energy has increased dramatically. Since the winter heating season 2001-02, the price of home heating costs for heating oil users has increased from $637 to $1261, for natural gas users from $602 to $954, and for propane from $888 to $1377. Second, the total number of families receiving LIHEAP grants during this period has increased by 20.1 percent, from 4.2 million to 5.1 million.

The drop in purchasing power has occurred during a period when total federal appropriations for LIHEAP have increased by 21.4 percent from $1.8 billion to $2.186 billion. Average grant assistance for home heating during this period increased by only 1.1 percent from $315 to $318, according to NEADA.

For more information, see NEADA's press release.

Page Last Updated: April 21, 2008