Last year, 90,000 Coloradans relied on the Low Income Energy Assistance Program or LEAP to help pay their heating bills. This year, experts said the early demand is trending higher than ever, but LEAP is a federal program, and the funding is not coming to Colorado during the government shutdown .

The program is accepting applications, but the funding isn't there right now.

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"Right now, we're encouraging Coloradans to continue to apply for LEAP; the applications are open, but until the government reopens, we will not have funds for the LEAP program," said Shelley Banker, the director of the Office of Economic Security within the Colorado Department of Human Services.

Last year, LEAP distributed nearly $50 million to help Coloradans pay their heating b

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