Each winter Iowans don’t have to worry about being cold when they’re home. The state offers a low income heating energy assistance program called LIHEAP that prevents energy companies from disconnecting services during the cold months. Washington County Supervisor Chairman Richard Young said this impacts people locally and he learned just how much at a recent meeting, “They served 428 houses here in Washington County for an amount of $181,160. That’s an average of $423.27 per household to keep peoples’ heat on in the winter time.”

Locally the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program, HACAP, oversees the program. LIHEAP is available to applicants at certain income rates, for example, a family of four that has an annual gross income of less than $42,525 may apply. LIHEAP runs from November to April.