The state of Maine will not be able to open its emergency heating fuel program as planned on Nov. 1 due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, officials announced this week.

The Low Income Heating Emergency Assistance Program, also known as LIHEAP, provides a one-time payment to eligible households to help pay for a portion of that season's heating expenses. Regular LIHEAP payments are usually made directly to heating vendors for an eligible household's heating oil, propane, wood, natural gas or electricity.

Under LIHEAP, the state can also provide eligible households with emergency heating fuel assistance through its Energy Crisis Intervention Program, which served roughly 7,000 Maine households last year. The crisis program is meant to help households facing an imminent heating em

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