Category: Cost of Living
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Wisconsin households earning up to $39,864 for one person can now apply for WHEAP heating help, with heating benefits expected to average $441
Wisconsin households can now apply for the Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program, known as WHEAP, which helps pay winter heating bills. A one-person household can have gross income of up to $39,864 a year and still qualify, and the state expects the average heating benefit to be $441. The Wisconsin Department of Administration announced on…
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Massachusetts will pay the SMART solar charge on electric bills from January through March
Massachusetts says it will cover the SMART solar charge on electric bills for three months this winter, January through March 2027. Gov. Maura Healey’s administration plans to move $80 million in state money to pay it, so the charge is not passed on to ratepayers. The governor’s October 5 announcement says the state will transfer…
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Federal employees and retirees in MHBP Standard self-only coverage face $1,540 more a year in 2027 premiums, a Checkbook analysis says, and Open Season ends Dec. 14
Federal employees and retirees who carry MHBP Standard self-only coverage face the biggest premium jump in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program for 2027, $1,540 more a year. The estimate comes from an analysis by Consumers’ Checkbook, a nonprofit that compares health plans. Open Season, the yearly window to change plans, ends Dec. 14.…
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Connecticut released $12.7 million so about 32,893 deliverable-fuel households can get their heating benefits at the same time, with paid deliveries starting Nov. 2
Connecticut has set aside $12.7 million in state money so that about 32,893 households that heat with delivered fuel can receive their heating benefits at the same time, instead of using up one benefit before the next. Program-paid fuel deliveries start Nov. 2, and the last day to apply this winter is May 31, 2027.…
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New York’s HEAP heating aid opens Nov. 2 with base benefits for oil, kerosene and propane raised to $990, for households earning up to $82,230 for a family of four
New York’s Home Energy Assistance Program, known as HEAP, opens for applications on Nov. 2, and the base benefit for households that heat with oil, kerosene or propane has gone up by $90, to $990. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the new season on Oct. 16. A family of four can have gross income of up…
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Massachusetts wants Eversource, National Grid and Unitil to set a payback schedule by Oct. 27 for an estimated $1.5 billion in transmission refunds owed regionwide
Gov. Maura Healey is asking Eversource, National Grid and Unitil to tell the state by Oct. 27 when they will start paying back an estimated $1.5 billion in transmission refunds owed to electric customers across New England. The money traces to a federal ruling that found the companies earned too much on their power lines.…
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Heating oil averaged $6.14 a gallon in EIA’s latest survey, $2.60 above last year
Households that heat with oil are starting the season at a steep price. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) put the national average for residential heating oil at $6.14 a gallon for the week of October 12, 2026, which is $2.60 higher than a year earlier. The exact figure in EIA’s weekly heating oil survey…
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SNAP households that lose food in a power outage or disaster generally must report it within 10 days to ask for replacement benefits
A freezer full of spoiled food after a storm is a hit most SNAP households cannot absorb, and the clock to fix it starts the day the food is lost. Households on SNAP that lose groceries to a power outage or other disaster generally have just 10 days to report the loss if they want…
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Homeowners and renters in six Indiana counties and Cook County, Illinois can apply until December 8 for SBA disaster loans after June storms
People whose homes or belongings were damaged in Indiana’s June storms have until December 8, 2026 to apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The offer covers homeowners and renters in six Indiana counties and in Cook County, Illinois, which includes Chicago. The U.S. Small Business Administration issued the declaration on…
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HHS released $3.6 billion in heating aid to states for fiscal 2027, 90% of the annualized amount
The Department of Health and Human Services has released $3.6 billion in heating aid to states for fiscal 2027, the first money for the federal energy-bill program in the new budget year. The amount equals 90% of the annualized total available for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP. The other 10%…