After a month delay, energy assistance funds are heading to eligible households
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Minnesotans who qualify for the state’s energy assistance program should start receiving help with their heating bills in the coming week.
Funding for the state’s energy assistance program was delayed for a month due to the recent federal shutdown.
The Minnesota Department of Commerce says it has started to distribute $112 million released by the federal government.
In a news release Wednesday, Commerce Commissioner Grace Arnold acknowledged the state’s energy assistance program plays a “crucial role in easing that burden on household budgets.”
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“We're moving quickly to get energy assistance out the door,” Arnold said.
Spokesperson Kristen Glazer said the agency has received more than 95,000 applications for energy assistance this year.
According to Glazer, nearly 50,000 applicants have already been determined to be eligible. She said that for those applications “payments will be made within the next week.”
Glazer said that for those who applied more recently or have yet to provide information requested by the agency, it could take longer.
“It will depend on the situation,” Glazer said.
Glazer added that it typically takes fewer than 30 days for the agency to process an application.
The state says last year the program awarded assistance to more than 125,000 households to help pay bills, prevent utility shutoffs, repair furnaces, and deliver propane and heating oil.
The recent 43-day federal shutdown ended on Nov.12 when President Donald Trump signed a spending bill after Congress reached an agreement.
