The Maryland Department of Human Resources, the LIHEAP grantee, announced record- breaking numbers of people served through the Maryland LIHEAP, also called Maryland Energy Assistance Program (MEAP).
The program started accepting applications July 1, 2008, and will cease May 31, 2009. By the end of the 2009 program year, more than 144,000 households will have applied for energy assistance. For the previous program year, 128,168 households applied.
As of April, 108,000 households were eligible for assistance and received an average grant of $564. Compared to the same time period last year, this is an increase of 16,000 more households.
Statistics were not provided for Maryland’s Electric Universal Service Program, funded by ratepayer and state dollars, which provides electric bill payments to MEAP-eligible households. However, enrollment for that program was expected to increase to over 110,000 households, compared to about 100,000 for FY 2008.
Source: Maryland DHR
