DCA Disbursed More Than $480M in Utility Assistance in 2022 to NJ Households

TRENTON – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) announced today (Jan. 27) that it disbursed more than $480 million in federal and state funding in 2022 to New Jersey residents in need of utility assistance. The utility help was distributed to approximately 288,626 distinct households by DCA’s Division of Housing and Community Resources.
“The Murphy Administration is committed to getting utility assistance out to households that need it so people don’t have to choose between essential expenses like housing, food, medicine, and utilities,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver, who also serves as DCA Commissioner. “Financial help is still available for people who are struggling to pay bills for home heating, drinking water, and sewer service. We urge New Jersey residents to visit the DCA website for more information about the assistance programs and how to apply.”
Households can visit the DCAid portal at www.nj.gov/dca/dcaid to submit an application for assistance. People who do not have access to the internet can call 1-800-510-3102 to be directed to one of the community action agencies partnering with DCA to assist them with starting, completing, and submitting an application online.
From the start of the 2022-23 heating season on October 1, 2022, until the year’s end, DCA disbursed more than $64 million in utility assistance through the federally-funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to approximately 174,266 households in New Jersey and another $9 million in utility help through the Universal Service Fund (USF) to more than 140,400 households. Some of these households received assistance from both LIHEAP and USF.  
The Department also distributed more than $404.6 million through the American Rescue Plan Utility Debt Relief (ARP) Arrearage Forgiveness Program to help approximately 565,058 households pay past due electric and natural gas bills. Of this amount, more than $159 million was funded directly by the federal government and another $245.5 million was funded through state legislation (S-3691) that assigned a portion of the State’s allocation of federal American Rescue Plan funds to utility assistance.
Additionally, DCA in 2022 disbursed more than $1.75 million in bill payment assistance for drinking water and sewer services through the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) to approximately 1,993 households.  
All of these programs are actively accepting applications in 2023.
LIHEAP helps low- and moderate-income households with their heating bills and provides emergency heating system services and emergency fuel assistance. Families with higher incomes are now able to apply for LIHEAP because of increases in federal income limits. For example, the program can help households at or below 60 percent of the state median income, which is $6,662 a month for a family of four.
The Universal Service Fund (USF) helps make natural gas and electric bills more affordable for low- and moderate-income households. To be eligible, a household’s gross income must be at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level ($111,000 a year for a family of four) and the household must pay more than 3 percent of its annual income for electric or for natural gas.  
The LIHWAP program can also help households at or below 60 percent of the state median income reduce the overdue balances they have on their residential water and sewer bills. To be eligible for LIHWAP benefits, households must be responsible for their own water and sewer costs. Funds are provided directly to the water and sewer companies on behalf of the residential customer.  
The American Rescue Plan Utility Debt Relief (ARP) Arrearage Forgiveness Program helps low-income households that are not currently enrolled in a utility assistance program such as LIHEAP or USF. An ARP grant may assist households that have fallen behind on their utility (gas and electric) payments.
While the Winter Termination Program, which is an annual program that prevents utility shutoffs for eligible customers during the winter months, is currently in effect, DCA encourages households in need to take advantage of the assistance programs available to help with utility bill payments. After the Winter Termination Program ends in March, households with past due bills are at risk of receiving utility shutoff notices.
DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including local government management and finance, affordable housing production, fire safety, building safety, community planning and development, disaster recovery and mitigation, and information privacy.