Keep the Lights On: Why Energy Efficiency and Reliable LIHEAP Funding Are the Fastest Climate-Resilience Tools for Low-Income Families

In 2024, 28% of New Jersey households reported they were unable to pay at least one energy bill in full — a higher share than the national figure of 23%.¹ For climate-vulnerable families, the fastest path to resilience is surprisingly unglamorous: lower the monthly bill before the crisis, and keep core assistance programs stable during it.

New Jersey has pieces of the resilience toolkit — strong bill-discount programs and major energy-efficiency rebates — but the last year of federal turbulence around LIHEAP is a warning: if a lifeline is unreliable, families fall through the gap.

Energy efficiency is the cheapest "power plant" New Jersey can build

Between June 2023 and June 2025, New Jersey's average residential electricity price climbed by roughly one-third, pushing more households into arrears and forcing impossible tradeoffs.

Energy insecurity in New Jersey is at scale, not a niche problem. Energy efficiency is often described as "the first fuel" because it reduces demand permanently. In practice, that means weatherization, insulation, air sealing, and appliance upgrades that cut usage month after month.

ACEEE notes that New Jersey households can receive up to $7,500 in rebates for energy audits, weatherization, and efficient appliances and equipment.³ Those savings can be cheaper than building new generation: ACEEE cites NJBPU estimates that energy savings from New Jersey utility efficiency programs cost about $40 per megawatt-hour, compared to about $48 to $107 per megawatt-hour for power from a new natural-gas combined-cycle plant.

Efficiency is climate resilience because it reduces the amount of electricity a household needs to stay safe. A better-sealed home stays warmer in winter and cooler in summer. If the grid goes down, it takes longer for indoor temperatures to become dangerous.

Bill discounts work — but participation gaps leave families behind

New Jersey's Universal Service Fund (USF) program provides comprehensive bill discounts for eligible customers, and an analysis prepared for the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities examined a dataset of more than 200,000 assisted households during the 2023–2024 timeframe.²

The results show what "effective" looks like: USF reduced the median energy burden for recipients to below 4% overall, meeting the program's target level (below 2% for electricity and about 2% for natural gas).

But the same analysis highlights the vulnerability: only about 20% of eligible low- and moderate-income households participate. That means most eligible households are still paying full freight — even before accounting for rising rates.

For a nonprofit working in the real world, the implication is straightforward: outreach, enrollment assistance, and "benefits navigation" are not administrative overhead. They are resilience infrastructure.

LIHEAP is still funded — but stability matters as much as dollars

The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a cornerstone of winter safety and summer cooling support. Yet recent federal disruptions show how fragile that foundation can be.

In February 2026, the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) reported that LIHEAP received $4.045 billion in funding for FY2026 (a $20 million increase from the prior year), after a proposal to eliminate the program.¹ NEADA also warned that federal LIHEAP staff had not been rehired after an April 1, 2025 termination of the program's staff at HHS — leaving states to operate with less federal training and guidance and raising the risk of delays.

Why does that operational detail matter? Because timing is everything. A family facing shutoff does not have the luxury of "eventually." If disbursements are delayed, arrearages stack up and reconnect fees become another barrier.

NEADA estimates home heating costs could rise 11% in the coming winter. If that happens alongside rate increases, more households will be forced into the same tradeoff: heat vs. food, medicine, or rent.

What this means for climate-resilient food and energy

Energy and food are inseparable. When utility bills spike, food budgets are often the first place households cut. And when a home is cold, it is harder to store, cook, and safely prepare food. Climate-resilient food security therefore depends on energy stability.

For Love of Humanity's mission — climate-resilient food and energy for vulnerable families — the most realistic strategy is layered relief:

• Immediate stabilization: rapid-response help to prevent a shutoff, keep refrigeration running, and stabilize a household during a crisis window.
• Reliable public benefits: ensure families are enrolled in USF and LIHEAP (and re-certified) so that help is consistent over the year.
• Permanent bill reduction: connect eligible households to utility and state efficiency programs that cut usage for years.

This is also where community micro-grants can matter. A small grant that supports a neighborhood "energy navigator" — someone who helps families complete applications, gather documents, and troubleshoot denials — can unlock far more value than the grant size itself, by increasing take-up of existing programs.

A practical nonprofit playbook: five actions that pay back fast

1. Make enrollment part of service delivery. If you run a pantry, add a benefits check-in. If you deliver meals, include a one-page flyer with USF/LIHEAP basics and a phone number for help.
2. Build a "document readiness" kit. One of the biggest barriers is paperwork. Provide a simple checklist and help families secure proof of income, residency, and utility account details.
3. Track the assistance gap locally. Households often need help between program payments. Monitor average arrearages, shutoff notices, and reconnection costs so local donors understand the real size of the gap.
4. Pair efficiency upgrades with crisis relief. When a family needs emergency help, use that moment to refer them to weatherization and rebates. Crisis is a terrible time — but it is also when families are most motivated to seek permanent change.
5. Advocate for reliability, not just funding. Funding levels matter, but so do timelines, staffing, and clear guidance. Program operations determine whether families receive help in time.

Bottom line

Climate resilience is often framed as a long-term transition. But for low-income households, resilience can be measured in the next 30 days: will the bill be paid, will the fridge stay cold, will the power stay on?

Energy efficiency is the fastest permanent fix we have, because it lowers demand and costs less than new generation.³ USF shows that well-designed bill discounts can reduce energy burden to a manageable level.² And LIHEAP's FY2026 funding is real — but the last year shows that stability and staffing are just as important as the dollar figure.¹

Love of Humanity exists to bridge the gap between programs on paper and outcomes in real homes. When we keep the lights on, we keep families safe — and we create the foundation for climate-resilient food and energy in every season.