Thousands of Wisconsin residents could lose help paying for heating and air conditioning because of federal layoffs that put millions of dollars in aid in limbo.
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, helps people pay their utility bills. Given Wisconsin’s frigid winters, this generally means assistance for heating costs but can also include aid for cooling homes in the summer and help for homeowners to make their buildings more resistant to temperature extremes.
More than 244,000 Wisconsin households received federally funded help in the most recent fiscal year.
That support is up in the air because Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, eliminated the entire office administering the program this month.
Federal funding was not eliminated, but without the staff to determine how much should flow to each state, some money remains in limbo, as does the long-term future of the program. If LIHEAP were to be disrupted, advocates worry about harm to the long-term health of low-income Wisconsinites.
Various nonprofit charities also help residents with their heating bills. But none has enough money to make up for any changes to LIHEAP, said Tim Bruer, executive director of Energy Services Inc., which administers the federal assistance in Dane County and 14 other Wisconsin counties.
Even if current funding stays in place, the program serves only a fraction of those who are eligible in Wisconsin, Bruer said, and the money is less in 2025 than it was 15 years ago.
“If there's no LIHEAP or there's a disruption, the only light at the end of the tunnel for these deserving households with unmet needs is an oncoming train,” Bruer said.
LIHEAP’s origins date to President Ronald Reagan’s administration, when the program was developed as a response to the energy crisis of the 1970s that left millions of Americans without the ability to heat or cool their homes.
The program is a block grant, meaning it provides a set amount of money to each state, which has flexibility in how it can administer the initiative.
In Wisconsin, residents apply via the state Department of Administration but LIHEAP is supported in each of the state’s 72 counties by a local organization, such as Energy Services Inc.
Wisconsin has already received over $101 million in aid for the current fiscal year, but over $10 million of the state's expected allocation is in reserve with uncertainty about whether it will be distributed.
It appears there will be sufficient money for now to cope with an expected spike in need for help, said Tom Content, director of the Citizens Utility Board, a consumer advocacy group in Wisconsin. But he noted that the news comes just as utilities are legally allowed to shut off service to people who get behind on their bills.
Between Nov. 1 and April 15, Wisconsin utilities are prohibited from disconnecting someone’s utilities because of the danger a lack of heat could pose during the winter.
Residential customers across the state could face utility disconnection if they are behind on bills and have not set up a payment arrangement with their utility by the end of the annual winter moratorium on April 15.
“The timing of this coming out right as people are going to be facing shut-offs after April 15, it just sends the wrong message that people in important positions are not thinking about those who are struggling the most at this critical time,” Content said.
In Dane County, the 13,000 households that used LIHEAP in 2024 was a record high, and Bruer said this year is on pace to top that number by over 1,000 households.
Energy Services Inc. will work with utilities to identify those who might be at risk of falling into arrears, Bruer said. He noted that disruptions to LIHEAP would be a blow for utilities and ratepayers as well.
“This will be felt immediately,” he said. “And how much can the ratepayer be expected to absorb? … Even before Washington brought out their chain saw indiscriminately, there has been a clear realization that the energy crisis that is being faced by poor people has been accelerating at such an incredible rate. Everybody's scrambling.”
The proposed cuts come as the five major utilities in Wisconsin have asked state regulators to let them increase rates.
In an email, Cindy Tomlinson, a spokesperson for Alliant Energy, said the utility “is monitoring the potential impact on the LIHEAP program” and working to connect customers with the company’s own aid programs.
“We are working with government entities, industry groups and nonprofit partners to understand and potentially mitigate impacts to financially disadvantaged customers — the customers who most need the support LIHEAP provides — so they can keep their power on and stay as up-to-date as possible on their bills,” Tomlinson said.
Steve Schultz, a spokesperson for Madison Gas & Electric, said the utility “is committed to working with all our customers and connecting them to resources for assistance, if needed.” He said the utility urged residents to reach out early if there are challenges, so they can connect them with resources.
Residents living in homes not properly heated or cooled, or not well-conditioned against the elements, creates a host of health problems, said Abby Novinska-Lois, executive director of Healthy Climate Wisconsin.
That includes stress, poor mental health and spotty sleep quality, as well as respiratory and cardiovascular issues and joint problems.
Some people who manage to pay their utility bills make financial sacrifices that hurt other parts of their quality of life.
In Madison, the share of a person’s income that goes to pay for electricity is typically around 4%, but many low-income residents face an energy-cost burden two to five times that amount.
That means going without food, leading to malnutrition, or skipping needed health care or medications, which can aggravate chronic conditions, Novinska-Lois said,
“This will also exacerbate health inequities and disparities in our state,” she said.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the U.S. health and human services secretary, speaks during a campaign event in October at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.
Kennedy, the health and human services secretary, has said about one-fifth of the cuts to his agency were “mistakes” and already reinstated workers who help address lead contamination in water. It is unclear if the cuts at LIHEAP fall into that category or if Kennedy plans to restore the office.
Wisconsin’s two Democratic members of the U.S. House, Reps. Gwen Moore and Mark Pocan, signed onto a letter urging Kennedy to reverse course.
Bruer is fresh off a trip to Washington, D.C., where he met with lawmakers on the program’s importance. LIHEAP has traditionally enjoyed bipartisan support, but he said officials from both parties need to stand up and ensure its continued survival.
“We’re looking to further educate the political machinery of D.C. and the White House (about) the cost-benefit that this program (has), the acute need it addresses and the lives that it saves,” he said. “And hopefully they’ll find it worthy to hire back those who are responsible for the block grants.”
