These funds were for states to assist low-income households facing significant price increases for heating oil, natural gas, and propane prices during the winter. Federal Standards and Grantee Responsibilities.
Federal requirements are minimal and leave most important decisions to grantees.
Within these limits, grantees decide which welfare categories to include, what income limits to use, whether to impose other eligibility tests, and may grant priority to those with the greatest energy needs or cost burdens. Grantees decide the mix and dollar range of benefits, choose how benefits are provided, and decide what agencies will administer program components. Participation and Benefits. Those estimates, based on data reported by the states, indicate that in FY1999, 3.4 million households received regular heating cost assistance and 748,000 received winter crisis aid. These data do not reflect an unduplicated count of households, but rather an estimated count of households that received each category of assistance.