Sen. Seminara: Home heating $$ requires systemic improvements

The Senate and House both voted unanimously to pass an emergency act to give extra funding to those in need of fuel assistance. And Gov. Ned Lamont signed it into law.

The legislation, which will allocate an additional $17 million to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and Operation Fuel, Inc for those who have or will exhaust their benefits, is expected to last until April.

An estimated 75,000 families have received support from LIHEAP, as of Feb. 10, and over 15,000 families had exhausted their benefits as of Jan. 27.

The emergency funds will amount to $13.5 million for LIHEAP, with an additional $3.5 million for Operation Fuel. The funds will come from the remaining $59 million in federal ARPA money that was originally allocated for COVID response measures and is outside the spending cap. By allocating the funds for those who will exhaust benefits, as well as those who have already, the state retains the ability to use both old and new funds simultaneously.

The benefit will cover a variety of heating options, with the funds for Operation Fuel being specifically allocated for that purpose. While the bill garnered bipartisan support, and representatives from both sides voiced their support, some lawmakers believe that more should still be done.

Sen. Lisa Seminara, R-Avon, said that it seemed to her that the issue of additional funding for LIHEAP was raised every year, and that she would like to see a change in how the issue is addressed.

“I am hopeful that in the future, we will be able to look at this from a systemic standpoint and make some improvements so that we don’t find ourselves here anymore,” she said.

Connecticut Legislature Unanimously Approves Emergency Funding for Fuel Assistance