With the coldest days of winter upon us, and the cost of home heating bills rising, I wanted to be sure that you were aware of the initiatives being taken to improve energy affordability and reliability in our state.
 
To help Connecticut families now, we are utilizing federal and state dollars to increase energy assistance. The Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) will allow all participating households that heat with deliverable fuels, such as home heating oil, to receive an additional crisis assistance benefit worth $430 this winter season.
 
Coupled with the existing basic benefit and crisis assistance benefits, the additional benefit means those families can now access up to $2,320 per household to help pay their heating bills.

Households interested in seeking assistance through CEAP should apply online at ct.gov/heatinghelp or contact their local community action agency. Additional assistance is available by calling 2-1-1. Those seeking assistance from Operation Fuel should visit operationfuel.org.
 
To better prepare for the future and reduce costs, we are also taking the necessary steps to adopt long-term strategies that will:

• Build a cleaner, more affordable, and more reliable energy supply by investing in offshore wind, hydropower, nuclear power, and other renewable resources.
• Build energy efficiency and electrification programs that are not just increasing decarbonization and reliability but are creating good jobs.
• Capitalize on historic federal funding opportunities to maximize our investments.

These are just a few actions we are taking now, but throughout this legislative session, I will continue to ensure that we are prioritizing efforts to reduce the rising cost of energy.

Residents should never have to make the difficult decision between staying warm and putting food on the table.