Heating Assistance Increased for Kentuckians

By Tony McVeigh

Frankfort, KY – Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear says the state will have more money this winter to help low-income Kentuckians heat their homes. He says the federal government had already doubled the state's share to 68-million dollars, when word came of another nine-percent increase, to 75-million dollars.

"Last year, this program helped almost 174-thousand Kentucky families. We will be able to help a significantly higher number of families this year. How many more depends of applications and other factors, although we expect it to be tens of thousands more." Beshear says the additional funding will allow the state to boost heating fuel subsidies for needy families by 40-percent. Funding for crisis situations between January and March will rise from 250-dollars to 400-dollars. The heating assistance programs are administered by local Community Action agencies.