Colorado’s Low-Income Energy Assistance Program is accepting applications for its 2017-18 season.
LEAP provides cash assistance to help Coloradans pay a portion of home-heating costs during winter. The program pays the highest benefits to the highest heating bills and the lowest incomes by family size. LEAP is federally funded and administered by the Colorado Department of Human Services.
“Last year, nearly 98,000 Coloradans applied for LEAP and received an average benefit of nearly $344 per household,” said Aggie Berens, LEAP manager.
To qualify for LEAP, an applicant’s income cannot exceed 165 percent of the federal poverty level – $3,383 per month for a family of four – and applicants must be responsible for paying heating costs to an energy provider, fuel dealer or as part of rent.
They also must be permanent legal residents of the United States and Colorado, or have household members who are U.S. citizens.
LEAP-eligible households may also qualify for programs that inspect a home’s primary heating source, such as a furnace or wood-burning stove, and upgrades that improve a home’s energy efficiency.
The state also offers a rebate of property tax, rent and heat expenses to low-income seniors and the disabled.
Application deadline is April 30, 2018.
For applications and more information, visit http://bit.ly/2eNn3ND.
To find out if you qualify for LEAP, call (866) 432-8435.
