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1,000+ Philadelphians won’t get cooling help this summer as LIHEAP funds run out

“We’ve never had as many calls as we have received this year," said the CEO of one agency that facilitates LIHEAP cooling services in the city.

Excessive heat this summer has contributed to more demand than ever for the LIHEAP crisis cooling program, which provides two free air conditioners to eligible low-income housheolds.
Excessive heat this summer has contributed to more demand than ever for the LIHEAP crisis cooling program, which provides two free air conditioners to eligible low-income housheolds.Read moreAlejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

More than 1,000 Philadelphians hoping to get free air-conditioning units and other services through a state program may have to wait until next summer to cool down their homes.

The Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA) and the Philadelphia Housing Development Corp. (PHDC), the city’s two organizations that receive funds to facilitate the LIHEAP crisis cooling program, said they have exhausted funds for the season.

Pennsylvania’s LIHEAP crisis cooling program, which is in its third season, allocates funds for low-income households to receive cooling assistance from May 1 trough Aug. 31.

» READ MORE: From June: How to get a free air conditioner this summer

Eligible households can opt for: the installation of two room A/C units or one unit and a fan. They can also have repairs made to an existing window unit, central air-conditioning system, or heat pump according to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). Last summer, according to DCED data, most eligible households received A/C units.

The ECA, a nonprofit based in North Philadelphia, is set to provide cooling services to more than 600 households by the end of the summer, with about 575 units installed as of last week. But chief executive officer Steve Luxton said they will be unable to assist 1,000 people who have called or emailed requesting assistance.

“With the heat being relentless, that number grows by about 50 a day,” Luxton said. “We’ve never had as many calls as we have received this year.”

Demand has been high the past two summers, too, he said, with ECA maxing out its funding before summer’s end. But in past years, they’ve been unable to help maybe a few hundred people, not 1,000 or more, he said. Next summer, ECA plans to request more funding help somewhere between 800 and 1,000 Philadelphia households.

PHDC is set to provide cooling services to 133 households by the end of this summer, spokesperson Jamila Davis said, but will be unable to provide services to 71 other residents who have reached out. Those folks will be prioritized next summer, assuming that there is adequate funding, Davis added.

To be eligible for the LIHEAP crisis cooling program in Pennsylvania, homeowners must have received LIHEAP heating services the previous winter, or gotten services from the Department of Energy or LIHEAP Weatherization Assistance programs. All of those programs have income limits. For example, a family of four must make $45,000 a year or less to qualify for LIHEAP.