Why LIHEAP only reaches 16% of eligible households

0:00Yeah. Well, it does make energy affordable by realizing that energy costs are regressive. You know, they just are — they're regressive. Every time you have an increase, it's going to hit a lower income household harder because they have no discretionary income than it would a moderate or higher income household. So, it does get that mechanism correct.

0:28Even though it's $4 billion, the best estimate that we have out there is that it only reaches about 16% of the eligible households nationwide, which is alarming. And so, I'm working with a couple of colleagues to research why that is. And we think there are five mechanisms that we're testing. There may be more, but the five mechanisms are administrative burden. And that's where you really focus, to try to reduce that administrative burden.