New York HEAP Opens November 2: Delivered-Fuel Benefit Rises to $990, Over 1.1 Million Households Paid Automatically
New York Governor Kathy Hochul's office announced in Albany on October 16 that applications for the Regular benefit of the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) for the 2026-27 heating season open on Monday, November 2, and run through April 16, 2027. About 1.5 million benefits are expected to be issued this winter.
Most eligible households will not need to apply. More than 1.1 million households already enrolled in SNAP or Public Assistance will receive their payments automatically, prepared in advance by the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA). Households not paid automatically can apply starting November 2 through their local department of social services, online, by mail or in person. Program details are at ny.gov/HEAP, and the HEAP hotline is 1-800-342-3009.
Benefit levels are up this year. The base benefit for households heating with delivered fuels, oil, kerosene or propane, rose by $90 to $990, and the benefit for households heating with wood, pellets or coal rose by $65 to $700. A household that includes a member aged 60 or older, a child under 6, or a person with a permanent disability receives an additional $35. Each household can receive one Regular HEAP benefit per season, and a family of four may qualify with gross income up to $6,852 a month, or $82,230 a year. The governor's office noted that heating oil prices have risen 67 percent and kerosene prices 50 percent over the past year. Last heating season, HEAP issued more than 1.5 million benefits and saved New York households nearly $400 million.
For households in danger of running out of fuel or having service shut off, Emergency HEAP applications open on January 4, 2027. The Heating Equipment Repair and Replacement benefit opened on October 1. At the federal level, the Administration for Children and Families released $3.63 billion in fiscal 2027 Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program block grants on October 9, funding heating seasons in New York and other states.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 一台老式家用暖气炉（资料图）。美国国家公园管理局摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / A vintage home heating furnace (file photo). Photo by the U.S. National Park Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
