{"id":10608,"date":"2022-01-14T12:04:30","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T17:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/?p=10608"},"modified":"2023-10-31T16:27:48","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T20:27:48","slug":"governor-hogan-announces-enhanced-benefits-for-utility-and-electric-assistance-to-address-rise-in-heating-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/2022\/01\/14\/governor-hogan-announces-enhanced-benefits-for-utility-and-electric-assistance-to-address-rise-in-heating-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Governor Hogan Announces Enhanced Benefits for Utility and Electric Assistance to Address Rise in Heating Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2><em>State Also Increasing Funding For Weatherization Assistance<\/em><br \/><br \/><em>Supplemental Bill Assistance Will Also Help Lower Utility Bills for Low-Income Households<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>ANNAPOLIS, MD <\/strong>(January 14, 2022) \u2014 Governor Larry Hogan today announced that, to address the rise in heating costs, recipients of the state\u2019s utility and electric assistance will receive enhanced benefits during this home heating season. The state is also increasing funding for weatherization assistance programs to improve energy conservation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe relief we are announcing today will help our most vulnerable residents keep up with higher energy costs and stay warm throughout the winter months,\u201d said Governor Hogan. \u201cThis is all part of our commitment to devote some of our record budget surplus to helping Marylanders in need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This assistance will be administered by the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Enhanced Benefits for Utility and Electric Assistance.\u00a0<\/strong>The State of Maryland is enhancing the minimum benefit for electric and heating assistance eligible recipients to further support vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Through the Maryland Energy Assistance Program (MEAP), recipients will see their minimum benefit increase by 66%, from $300 to $500. Overall, MEAP is receiving a 30% increase in funding to support this enhanced benefit.<\/li>\n<li>Through the Electric Universal Assistance Program (EUSP), recipients will see their minimum benefit double from $150 to $300. Overall, EUSP is receiving a 32% increase in funding to support this enhanced benefit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cEvery year, more than 100,000 Maryland households who feel squeezed by high energy costs benefit from our energy assistance programs,\u201d said Secretary Lourdes R. Padilla of DHS. \u201cThe actions taken by Governor Hogan provide help for struggling Marylanders dealing with higher heating and energy bills.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Weatherization Assistance.<\/strong>\u00a0The state will provide<strong>\u00a0$29 million<\/strong>\u00a0in weatherization assistance program funding across the next two years\u2014a 190% increase\u2014to further help households across Maryland install energy conservation materials. These measures both reduce the consumption of energy and the cost of maintenance for these homes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Supplemental Energy Bill Assistance.<\/strong>\u00a0Based on the projected increase in heating and cooling costs by the U.S. Energy Information Administration\u2019s Winter Fuel Outlook,\u00a0<strong>$30 million<\/strong>\u00a0in supplemental bill assistance will be issued to utilities on behalf of customers and applied over a six-month billing period. Low income households in Maryland should expect to receive approximately $83 per month in bill assistance over six month periods in FY 2022 and FY 2023 respectively.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Expanded Energy Assistance Outreach.<\/strong>\u00a0Outreach funding of\u00a0<strong>$5 million<\/strong>\u00a0will be administered by DHS to its community based organizations, which assist vulnerable populations in each of Maryland\u2019s 24 jurisdictions with completing applications, submitting any necessary follow up documentation, and answering questions about energy assistance programs.<\/p>\n<p>Residents in need of energy assistance may apply\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mydhrbenefits.dhr.state.md.us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/mydhrbenefits.dhr.state.md.us\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642263662991000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0TuyjBC7RQ_Nnk6zFlFTSC\">online<\/a>, mail in an application, or apply in person at a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dhs.maryland.gov\/office-of-home-energy-programs\/local-home-energy-program-office\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/dhs.maryland.gov\/office-of-home-energy-programs\/local-home-energy-program-office\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642263662991000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1nIqfjv1yjy7XIRpcUyxry\">local Home Energy Program Office<\/a>\u00a0located in each of Maryland\u2019s 24 jurisdictions. Detailed information on how to apply can be found on the DHS\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dhs.maryland.gov\/office-of-home-energy-programs\/how-do-you-apply\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/dhs.maryland.gov\/office-of-home-energy-programs\/how-do-you-apply\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642263662991000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0BCr6TcmRJqkzdtM-Tp5Dx\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Visit the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dhs.maryland.gov\/office-of-home-energy-programs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/dhs.maryland.gov\/office-of-home-energy-programs\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642263662991000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Ap31kR9gecIqqm1y1nVAr\">DHS<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dhcd.maryland.gov\/Residents\/Pages\/wap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/dhcd.maryland.gov\/Residents\/Pages\/wap\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642263662991000&amp;usg=AOvVaw33sa49Bt9aqOiocR4bnc6m\">DHCD<\/a>\u00a0websites for additional program details, including eligibility information, contact information, and answers to frequently asked questions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"># # #<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>State Also Increasing Funding For Weatherization Assistance Supplemental Bill Assistance Will Also Help Lower Utility Bills for Low-Income Households ANNAPOLIS, MD (January 14, 2022) \u2014 Governor Larry Hogan today announced that, to address the rise in heating costs, recipients of the state\u2019s utility and electric assistance will receive enhanced benefits during this home heating season.<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/2022\/01\/14\/governor-hogan-announces-enhanced-benefits-for-utility-and-electric-assistance-to-address-rise-in-heating-costs\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,46,33,93,125],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-energy-efficiency","category-governor-hogan","category-press-releases","category-special-loans","category-weatherization"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10608"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11747,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10608\/revisions\/11747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}