“The Administration truly appreciates these additional funds and will utilize them to provide ongoing utility assistance to eligible families across the state,” said Acting Governor Sheila Oliver, who serves as DCA Commissioner. “We know that New Jerseyans continue to struggle to pay their utilities and this funding will go a long way in helping even more people in the coming months. Since eligibility requirements have been expanded to include higher income levels, we’re urging people to apply for assistance on our one-stop online portal, DCAid.”

LIHEAP is a federal program that helps households at or below 60 percent of the state median income (for example, $6,439 a month for a family of four) pay for home energy costs such as heating and cooling. The program is focused on helping households pay their current and past due energy heating bills. However, the program will also supplement essential cooling bills for vulnerable people to help lessen the impacts of excessive heat as the summer months approach.

LIHEAP is one of several programs DCA provides to help New Jersey households meet basic needs to promote long-term physical well-being. The programs include the Low Income Household Water Assistance (LIHWAP) program, which was announced by DCA in early March, and provides benefits directly to water and wastewater companies, on behalf of residential customers. DCA also administers the Universal Service Fund (USF) program, which provides a monthly credit on electric and gas bills for households at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level (for example, $8,833 a month for a family of four). All of the mentioned programs are actively accepting applications and people can apply through our one-stop online application portal DCAid.

Participants in the LIHEAP program are automatically eligible for LIHWAP assistance as long as they are water/wastewater bill holders.

People who do not have access to computers or the internet can call 1-800-510-3102 to be directed to one of the community action agencies partnering with DCA to assist them with starting, completing, and submitting an application online. A list of the community organizations providing such assistance is available at https://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dhcr/offices/agencydirectorylist.html on the DCA website.

DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including affordable housing production, fire safety, building safety, community planning and development, local government management and finance, and disaster recovery and mitigation