Maine Residents To Receive $500 Heating Relief Payments This Week

Selected residents of Maine will be receiving $500 worth of heating relief payments which started rolling out on December 12. This assistance is provided help in bearing the rising costs of heating resources, says King.

Maine Heating System During Winter

On December 7, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services announced that the one-time payments of $500 will be provided to roughly 13,000 households with members aged 65 and older and with incomes below 133% of the federal poverty line. Other requirements include those who collected Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and reported heat expenses in September 2022. These one-time payments intend to help compensate for the costs of heating resources like oil, gas, propane, wood, and electricity, as well as the improvement of the heating systems. 

This initiative pulled out $6.6 million worth of existing funds from the state. Said funding is generally used to improve the health and safety of elder Maine residents who are at an increased risk of developing illness during the winter season, as reported by Cariaga.

Similar Relief Payments for Heating Costs

This one-time payment mirrors other heating cost relief for residents of Maine. In March, $800 worth of heating relief was given to roughly 13,000 low-income households with children. A similar round of $1,000 payments was given to roughly 15,000 households that participate in SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Parents as Scholars, or Higher Opportunity for Pathways to Employment (HOPE).

According to Cariaga, in a separate announcement last December 7, Maine Governor Janet Mills also disclosed the Emergency Winter Energy Relief Plan. This is a short-term plan designed to make sure that low-income and middle-class residents and families of Maine can stay warm and secure during winter. This plan also seeks to provide eligible Maine households with $450 checks for their heating and fuel costs.