Low Income Home Energy Assistance

Authority

Low Income Home Energy Assistance is authorized by Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (Title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981), Sections 2601-2611; codified at 42 U.S.C. 8621-8630. State allotment formula at Section 2604 (42 U.S.C. 8623); application and requirements at Section 2605 (42 U.S.C. 8624)., administered by HHS / ACF, as a block program. Statute.

Statutory formula under Section 2604 (42 U.S.C. 8623). Base state allotment percentages were frozen at the FY1981 LIEAP shares (as amended by P.L. 96-369). When regular block grant appropriations rise above statutory trigger levels, an updated formula incorporating low-income household home energy expenditures applies, subject to hold-harmless provisions (subsections (a)(2)(A) and (a)(2)(B)) that raise certain states to floor amounts, ratably reduce others to fund those raises, and prevent any state from a decrease when appropriations rise. OCS applies annual updates to the LIHEAP allocation formula each year. Grant recipients may use heating and/or cooling funds plus up to 15% of funding (25% with a waiver) for weatherization. Crisis assistance must be available through at least March 15. No state match is required.

Allocations by jurisdiction

60 jurisdictions, from the published allocation table.

Where the money lands

Place-of-performance obligations by state, with per-capita, sealed in the location chain.

Top recipients

Source documents

5 primary documents, parsed and sealed by content hash.

• LIHEAP Statute and Regulations (codification 42 U.S.C. 8621-8630; 45 C.F.R. Part 96 Subpart H) statute
• LIHEAP Fact Sheet (Office of Community Services) fact-sheet
• LIHEAP main program page (Office of Community Services) guidance
• LIHEAP-AT-2025-04: Model Plan Application for LIHEAP Funding for Federal Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) nofo
• LIHEAP Contact Information for the Division of Energy Assistance - ACF OCS agency-site

Questions

How does Low Income Home Energy Assistance money reach recipients?

Formula-driven federal block grant. HHS/ACF/OCS allocates funds annually to 50 states, the District of Columbia, 5 territories, and roughly 150 Tribes and Tribal organizations using the statutory LIHEAP allocation formula. Each jurisdiction must submit an approved LIHEAP Model Plan (application) to receive its allotment, then draws funds through the GrantSolutions Online Data Collection (OLDC) Notice of Award and the HHS Payment Management System. The states, Tribes, and territories then deliver assistance to eligible low-income households (heating, cooling, crisis, weatherization, minor repairs); the federal agency does NOT make awards directly to households.

How much federal funding does Low Income Home Energy Assistance represent?

As of 2026-06-05, $7.4B was obligated across 74 active awards to 37 recipients in 56 states and 0 counties. This is a sealed point-in-time figure from USAspending, the federal system of record.

What law authorizes Low Income Home Energy Assistance?

Low Income Home Energy Assistance is authorized by Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (Title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981), Sections 2601-2611; codified at 42 U.S.C. 8621-8630. State allotment formula at Section 2604 (42 U.S.C. 8623); application and requirements at Section 2605 (42 U.S.C. 8624)., administered by HHS / ACF.