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Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Division 10 Service 415 Program 415 Chapters 05 - 65 North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services

Benefit Computation 415-30 (Revised 10/00 ML #2629) View Archives

The LIHEAP benefit level is expressed as a "LIHEAP Share Percentage" that will be paid on each authorized heating bill that falls within an eligible month. The LIHEAP Share Percentage subtracted from 100% is the "Co- payment Percentage" which the household will be expected to pay on each heating bill.

The LIHEAP benefit level is calculated by first determining an annual dollar amount that an eligible household could reasonably be expected to pay for heating. This household heat share is then subtracted from an annual estimated cost of heating to determine an estimated annual LIHEAP cost. The estimated LIHEAP cost divided by the total estimated cost of heating and rounded up to the nearest 5% is the actual percentage LIHEAP will pay on each authorized bill. (LIHEAP Share % for electrically heated homes is capped at 70%.) (See 30-05 for benefit minimum)

Whenever an appropriate household benefit level cannot be determined within the provisions of this section, the State Program Administrator will assign a benefit level that is reasonably related to similarly situated households.