CHENANGO COUNTY – The Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) in Chenango County may have some share in the millions of dollars recently added to the federal program in New York State.

It was announced last week that New York is slated for an additional $33 million from the Federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) to help seniors and low income families offset the cost of heating their homes. The surge of funding comes in the wake of cold temperatures and a quickly drying pool of existing funds. U.S. senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand made the announcement official on Friday.

“Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers each year, many of whom are seniors on a fixed income, rely on (HEAP) funding to help pay for the home heating costs that have become a larger and larger share of their budget,” Schumer said in a press statement. “This additional funding will help people cover costs during this very cold winter and will mean fewer people will have to choose between paying for heat and rent, heat and prescription drugs, or heat and putting food on the table.”