Massachusetts Heating Allowance

Like many other states, Massachusetts has heating allowance programs in place to help people keep their homes warm enough during the winter months. These heating allowance programs go year-round and can be applied to the cost of utilities, including the cost of keeping a home cool during the hot summer months. Residents of the state of Massachusetts can apply to these programs to be considered for assistance through the heating allowance. Read on for more information on how these heating allowance programs operate and what households are eligible for assistance.

 

The name of the state’s heating allowance program is the standard utility allowance or SUA. The money from the program can be applied to a household’s heating and other utility expenses. The amount that applicants qualify for coincides with how much those applicants would receive in shelter expenses for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits from the state.

 

The actual amount of assistance a household receives through the program has nothing to do with the actual monthly utility costs incurred by the household. The amounts are figured out annually for ease of calculation. Unlike in some states, the Massachusetts SUA payouts come in three different amounts. These amounts can be readjusted by the DTA with the approval of the USDA.

 

The first amount rewarded under the program is called the heating SUA. The money from the program can be used for both heating and air conditioning expenses for the household. Currently the total amount that can be rewarded to a household is 586 dollars. Renters who apply to the program must pay for their heating or air conditioning utility costs separately from their rent, otherwise they cannot participate in the program. Any applicants that have qualified for or anticipate being qualified for the federal government’s Fuel Assistance program can also expect to qualify for heating SUA, even if they pay utilities as a part of their monthly rent. Any household that has qualified for the new H-EAT program for heating and food costs also qualify for the heating SUA. Payments are sent throughout the year, even during the spring and fall months when you don’t have to heat or cool your home.

 

A non-heating SUA also exists. This program offers assistance for households that pay utility expenses that do not include the heating or cooling of the house. These expenses include any electricity costs that did not provide heat for the home, natural gas expenses for cooking on a stovetop, water, sewer and trash pickup services. Currently the payout for non-heating SUA applicants who are approved is three hundred and sixty dollars.

 

Just because someone rents a place to live in Massachusetts and does not have to pay any utility costs does not mean that they do not qualify for SUA. There is a telephone-only SUA for people in just such a situation. You cannot claim the assistance money for a phone card, but it can be applied to either a landline or cell phone.

 

A household does not carry the burden of proving how much its actual utility expenses add up to in order to qualify in the future for SUA programs. Households also cannot claim the money received for a SUA as part of the third party utility expenses.

 

In situations where a family or individual is living rent-free in a house for house sitting or some other reason, the household can still qualify for a standard utility reduction. In a situation where the household’s shelter is paid for by someone who is not a member of the household (such as a relative or charitable organization) then the shelter expenses cannot be claimed as a deduction.

 

The state of Massachusetts came up with the H-EAT Program back in 2007. The program is aimed at households that already qualify for SNAP benefits. Program benefactors learn about the various heating allowance programs available to them, including the Fuel Assistance program, weatherization programs and other resources that help with home heating solutions. In addition, the H-EAT program also provides food benefits to households who qualify. The SNAP households are automatically screened both in October and April of each year to determine which households are eligible for the H-EAT program. To be eligible, a household cannot already be receiving the higher heating SUA, be on Bay State CAP benefits or be technically homeless.

 

One of the big pluses of the H-EAT program is that households that qualify for assistance do not have to supply any proof of the cost of household heating and cooling bills. And once a household is provided with the program’s benefits, the household also qualifies for discount programs with the local utility companies. And if the household pays an excess of thirty percent of their income toward rent each month, the household might be able to qualify for Fuel Assistance benefits from local fuel assistance programs to further help with heating costs.

 

Another heating allowance program is the Citizens Energy Heat Assistance program. The program is designed to help low-income households that struggle to pay for home heating expenses. There are two programs: one for households that use oil to heat their home and another that is for households that use natural gas to heat their home. The oil heating program provides eligible households with one hundred gallons of home heating oil for free each winter season. The resources for the free oil come from a joint effort between CITGO Petroleum, Citizens Energy Corporation, MASSCAP Directors Association, various fuel assistance agencies and various Massachusetts fuel oil dealers. For the natural gas heating program, eligible households are given one hundred and fifty dollars toward their natural gas account. While the Citizens Energy runs the natural gas program, it is funded by Distrigas.

 

Qualifications for the Citizens Energy Heat Assistance program are pretty simple. A household must be facing a financial hardship to be considered, and this hardship must be well documented. The second requirement is that a household cannot have already received financial assistance from Citizens Energy during the same winter season.

 

Author Sam Jones uses halogen heaters and saving on energy bills with uSwitch to keep control of his energy costs.