Oregon gets 36,433,895 dollars in help paying heating bills this winter

Oregon households can get help paying heating bills now

A household in Oregon looking for help paying heating bills this winter now has new federal money behind it. The United States government sent Oregon 36,433,895 dollars on November 20, 2025, the first release under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP, a program that pays part of a household heating bill directly to its energy provider. The exact figure comes from a disbursement table the federal government itself publishes, not from a news report, and the table shows all of it came from the Continuing Resolution award column, funding tied to a stopgap law Congress uses to keep money flowing without a full year budget, rather than the separate Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act column that funded part of the national release. The money had been delayed by a federal government shutdown that lasted 43 days.

How much more money is coming, and how long the wait is

Oregon Housing and Community Services expects a bigger total for the whole heating season, about 39.4 million dollars, close to 90% of the 40.4 million dollars the state was awarded, the agency says. That is a separate, larger figure covering the full winter, not a second count of the same November release, so a household should not expect the smaller figure to be all the help coming this year. A household that applies should expect to wait 4 to 6 weeks before the assistance actually reaches its heating bill, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports, so applying early matters.

The need is bigger than the money available

Oregon distributed 41.7 million dollars in heating help last winter, reaching more than 114,000 Oregonians, the state reports. Even with that much money, Jessie Schirrick, Strategic Communications Coordinator at Oregon Housing and Community Services, says the program can currently serve less than 25% of the Oregonians who qualify for it in each region of the state, meaning most eligible households still go without help.

It is important to keep in mind that LIHEAP does not meet the existing need as it is.

Sarah Wochele, Oregon Citizens Utility Board. Source 1.

Why the money was late, and how big the national release is

A federal government shutdown held up the money for 43 days before it ended November 12, 2025. The Administration for Children and Families, the federal office that runs LIHEAP, then released 3,713,859,933 dollars nationally on November 28, 2025, made up of 3,613,859,933 dollars in regular block grant funding and 100,000,000 dollars in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act supplemental funding, extra money on top of the regular grant.

This release of LIHEAP funding is essential and long overdue.

Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. Source 2.

Families can finally begin receiving the support they need to keep the heat on as winter begins.

Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. Source 2.

How to apply, and what protects households while they wait

Local community action agencies, not the state housing agency itself, decide who qualifies and pay a household energy provider directly, Oregon Housing and Community Services says. A household must earn at or below 60% of the state median income, adjusted for household size, to qualify.

Households served by Portland General Electric, Pacific Power and NW Natural cannot be disconnected for nonpayment through December, a protection that ends January 1. Oregon Citizens Utility Board and other advocates are pushing to extend that protection to April 1, 2026, so a household is not cut off before more federal money arrives.