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10-31-2025 10:12pm
MA Finds Emergency Funding as Federal Government Shutdown Threatens Home Heating Aid
Darlene Cancell
Editor
The federal government shutdown means that on Saturday, November 1st, federal funding will be unavailable for the Massachusetts Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) - a program that typically helps over 300,000 people in 150,000 households with home heating costs. However, the Healey-Driscoll Administration on Friday has announced that, in the short term, it will apply $13 million remaining from last year's funds for heating emergencies.
The administration defines heating emergencies as situations that include:
- having no heat
- receiving a termination notice from a utility
- having less than one-eighth of a tank of oil
- having less than three days' supply of other deliverable fuels.
The Healey-Driscoll Administration urges families experiencing a heating emergency to immediately contact their local administering agency for heating assistance.
Governor Maura Healey stated, "Our message to people experiencing a heating emergency right now is to continue to apply for assistance - we will do everything we can to keep our families warm."
The Healey-Driscoll Administration has blamed President Trump and Congressional Republicans for the lack of funding. "[W]e need the President and Congressional Republicans to do their job and get the government running again so people can continue to heat their homes," said Governor Healey.
"Millions of people, including seniors and young children, across the country depend on federal heating assistance to help keep their homes warm during the wintertime," said the governor. "But because President Trump and Congressional Republicans shut down the federal government that they control, this essential funding will be unavailable for thousands of Massachusetts families starting November 1," she said.
During the 2024-2025 heating season, the HEAP program provided financial assistance to 159,000 Massachusetts households for home heating in the winter. The majority (54 percent) were seniors on a fixed income, according to the administration. Approximately 11 percent of the assisted households have children under the age of 6, it says.
Support to households experiencing emergencies will be provided by local administering agencies working with the state's Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities on a case-by-case basis, using limited federal carryover funds.
"We remain committed to serving household with heating emergencies as wintertime approaches, said Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities (HLC) Ed Augustus.
"Senior citizens on a fixed income should not be forced to choose between heating their homes in the winter or paying for their groceries and medication. Children and their families should not be left in the cold," said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll.
Like the governor, Lt. Governor Driscoll and Secretary Augustus called on President Trump and Congressional Republicans to reopen the federal government so that HEAP funding can be available to residents who need help with paying heating costs.
Congress annually appropriates HEAP funding to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which allocates a portion of these funds to the state of Massachusetts. The funding is administered by HLC, which then allocates HEAP funds to local administering agencies. The local agencies process residents' HEAP applications and make the payments to utility companies on behalf of the agencies' clients.
Residents seeking more information about whether they are eligible for HEAP or how to apply can find it here.
Thanks to the Office of Governor Maura T. Healey and Lt. Governor Kimberley Driscoll for sharing this news with Westwood Minute.
