The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, commonly referred to as HEAP, is designed to assist income eligible households with their heating or utility costs. In Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2024, 1.8 million beneficiaries were authorized in New York State, totaling $398.2 million in benefits with an additional $31.7 million in funding for administration.
Eligibility and benefits are based on income, household size, the primary heating source of the household and the presence of a household member who is under six years old, over 60 years old or permanently disabled. The maximum gross monthly income limit for a one-person household is $3,322; the limit increases with household size up to a maximum of $9,952 for a household of 13 people. An add-on benefit is available for households below 130 percent of the federal poverty level or if at least one adult household member is a recipient of certain other public benefits. An additional benefit of $35 is available to eligible households with a member that is under the age of six, or is 60 or older, or permanently disabled.
Emergency HEAP benefits cover households that meet eligibility requirements and cannot afford to replace depleted fuel supplies or are subject to utility termination of service due to financial hardship. In FFY 2024, these benefits were authorized for 146,380 beneficiaries for an average benefit of $550.
Additionally, HEAP offers benefits for equipment repair or replacement and for maintenance, energy efficiency services, carbon monoxide detectors, chimney cleaning, as well as cooling assistance benefits.
In FFY 2024, New York City had the largest number of HEAP recipients (1 million), receiving nearly $64 million in benefits. Outside of New York City, Erie (119,693), Monroe (65,920), Suffolk (65,037), Onondaga (41,559) and Oneida (28,545) Counties had the greatest number of HEAP recipients with benefits totaling $41.7 million, $19.7 million, $20.8 million, $15.1 million, and $13.8 million in benefits, respectively.
HEAP Beneficiaries, FFYs 2015 – 2024
Source: OTDA, Monthly Caseload Statistics at https://otda.ny.gov/resources/caseload/
HEAP Benefits and Administrative Allocations, FFYs 2015 – 2024
Source: OTDA, Monthly Caseload Statistics at https://otda.ny.gov/resources/caseload/
HEAP Households and Benefits, FFY 2024
Source: OTDA
- Data Table
District
Beneficiaries
Benefits
Albany 19,603
$6,689,103
Allegany 5,240
$2,928,538
Broome 20,166
$9,641,568
Cattaraugus 9,400
$4,793,458
Cayuga 6,686
$3,475,488
Chautauqua 16,436
$6,938,598
Chemung 10,290
$4,158,598
Chenango 5,346
$3,621,302
Clinton 11,340
$7,885,352
Columbia 4,815
$2,964,638
Cortland 4,711
$2,375,103
Delaware 5,387
$3,621,529
Dutchess 12,461
$5,636,185
Erie 119,693
$41,667,343
Essex 3,283
$2,379,165
Franklin 7,977
$5,909,833
Fulton 7,059
$4,174,145
Genesee 3,841
$1,601,712
Greene 4,730
$3,213,525
Hamilton 443
$341,848
Herkimer 8,125
$4,793,260
Jefferson 11,497
$5,948,535
Lewis 2,996
$2,151,180
Livingston 4,731
$2,550,230
Madison 5,928
$3,383,886
Monroe 65,920
$19,684,007
Montgomery 6,961
$3,840,026
Nassau 19,101
$5,302,807
Niagara 20,208
$7,355,368
Oneida 28,545
$13,789,097
Onondaga 41,559
$15,107,624
Ontario 7,827
$3,274,131
Orange 19,656
$8,439,816
Orleans 4,172
$2,329,987
Oswego 11,204
$6,499,819
Otsego 6,255
$4,306,647
Putnam 2,229
$1,060,932
Rensselaer 10,843
$5,179,117
Rockland 18,778
$5,034,274
St Lawrence 13,940
$8,560,453
Saratoga 14,004
$7,673,325
Schenectady 13,196
$4,863,241
Schoharie 4,067
$2,887,376
Schuyler 2,119
$1,452,677
Seneca 3,229
$1,704,981
Steuben 11,766
$6,033,062
Suffolk 65,037
$20,761,634
Sullivan 9,169
$5,675,129
Tioga 5,641
$3,697,348
Tompkins 5,999
$2,403,770
Ulster 14,573
$7,547,211
Warren 5,826
$3,346,390
Washington 6,374
$4,275,243
Wayne 7,245
$3,601,944
Westchester 34,050
$3,316,205
Wyoming 2,795
$1,441,097
Yates 1,852
$984,899
New York City 1,017,645
$63,950,866