Pennsylvania’s LIHEAP cooling pilot program is now in its third year, and provides eligible households either two Energy Star–rated room air conditioner units, one unit and a fan, or repair or replacement of an existing but broken central air conditioning system or heat pump.
It’s funded with federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program money left over from the winter heating season.
Eligibility for the program is narrow. In order to qualify, a household must have received LIHEAP assistance this past November through April or be currently receiving federally funded weatherization assistance.
Because of this, there is no centralized way to apply for the program directly. Some county-level weatherization agencies reached out to eligible clients to enroll them in the program. State officials recommend that people who qualify for the LIHEAP cooling program call their local weatherization agency if they have not yet heard from them.
In Philly, the Energy Coordinating Agency contacted roughly 300 people who were already in the organization’s system because they had received qualifying assistance this past winter, officials said.
The agency also received hundreds of emails, phone calls and walk-in visits about the program, as well as referrals from Neighborhood Energy Centers, elected officials and doctors, Olidge said.
“They haven’t stopped coming in,” she said.
But the Energy Coordinating Agency cannot accommodate all of these inquiries. As of Tuesday, the agency had served roughly 575 households through the cooling program this summer and had jobs pending for roughly 50 more. The agency has not had enough funding or staff capacity to address at least 1,000 other inquiries about the program so far this summer, and estimates that number could grow to 2,000 before the season is over.
PHDC expects to serve roughly 130 households through the program this summer, but lacks funding to serve roughly 70 other households who tried to sign up, said spokesperson Jamila Davis.
It’s not just Philly where demand for air conditioners has outpaced funding for the LIHEAP cooling program.
Action Housing, which serves Allegheny, Washington and Greene counties and was the second biggest provider through the program last summer, had a waitlist of around 500 households as of Tuesday, said Director of Weatherization Services Pamela Miljus. The agency has only served 60 households so far this summer and plans to perform jobs for at least 40 more off the waitlist.
“The demand is far greater than the funding that we will have to spend,” Miljus said in an email.
Luxton thinks above-normal temperatures so far this summer have driven demand for air conditioners, just as he sees winter applications for LIHEAP assistance surge during cold weather.
“This summer thus far has been relentless, and that directly impacts this overwhelming number of folks applying for the program,” he said.
Advocates say rising temperatures in Pennsylvania due in part to human-caused climate change make air conditioning increasingly crucial. But in Philadelphia, resources are limited.
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