As temperatures drop in New Hampshire, heating assistance programs are gearing up for the winter. Despite the federal government shutdown, state officials say New Hampshire’s program is operating as usual.

New Hampshire gets tens of millions of dollars in federal money for heating assistance on a yearly basis. Last year, the state received more than $32 million , which provided assistance to about 28,000 households. Heating assistance awards were about $1,000 per household, on average.

State officials say they generally get notified about their federal funding allocation by December 1 . But until federal lawmakers pass a spending bill, it’s unclear when states may receive their grants.

Program administrators in other New England states, including Massachusetts and Maine

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