Paterson Announces Home-Heating Help
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- September
- 12
As he teased earlier in the week, Gov. Paterson announced today an additional $49 million in help for New Yorkers likely to face high heating bills this winter.
The Legislature and Paterson were unable to reach an agreement last month on providing home-heating relief, so Paterson said Monday that he was going to find money within parts of the state budget he controlled to help the cause.
“The state has an obligation to help our residents get through this winter in any way we can. While we cannot influence world energy prices in any significant way, we can reduce the amount of energy we use and effectively lower our energy bills. The cheapest energy is the energy never used,” Paterson said.
The announcement says:
– The state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance will increase the maximum grant offered through the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP). All eligible HEAP recipients that heat with a deliverable fuel (oil, propane or kerosene) will receive an $800 regular benefit, a 48 percent increase over the current maximum benefit of $540. In addition, the HEAP emergency benefit will increase from $700 to $800. – The Public Service Commission (PSC) has increased the amount of low-income funding provided by local utility companies and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) by $32 million, to improve the energy efficiency of homes. NYSERDA will also spend an additional $2 million this winter to help more New Yorkers reduce their energy use while also keeping their homes heated. – The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is offering a $5 million “Weatherization Blitz†to customers served by municipal electric systems throughout Upstate New York. NYPA will distribute “do-it-yourself†kits and energy savings tip sheets to residents through these utilities that could result in energy savings in the upcoming months. – The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) is making $10 million available to its low-income senior customers for direct bill payment assistance. In addition, LIPA will be expanding its support for improved energy efficiency in homes for all of its customers in Long Island and New York City. – The Department of Public Service will hold an emergency summit to discuss expanding utility budget billing programs and other options for making bill payment easier, and consider changes to termination policies to reduce the likelihood of service disruptions during cold weather months.Paterson is also planning a website and hotline number to give information on all the state’s heating-related programs.
This entry was posted
on Friday, September 12th, 2008 at 12:57 pm by Joseph Spector.
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Jay Gallagher has covered Albany for Gannett News Service since 1984 and has been Albany Bureau chief since 1989. He`s a native of the Boston area and likes to point out that in this millennium, the score is Red Sox 1 championship, the Yankees 0. 
Cara Matthews has been a statehouse correspondent in the Albany Bureau since August 2005. Prior to that, she covered Putnam County government and politics at The Journal News for nearly five years. Before that, she worked at newspapers in Connecticut and covered the state Legislature for one of them. 
