For decades, the federally funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program has provided relief to people struggling to pay their utility bills.
Last year, LIHEAP, known locally as H-HEAP, kept close to 300 Hawaiʻi households from having their utilities shut off, and it helped thousands more reduce their energy burden through utility bill credits.
Scott Morishige with the Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services, which oversees H-HEAP, said the program can be a lifeline for Hawaiʻi residents, who pay more for electricity on average than anyone else in the nation.
But this might be the last year that assistance is available.
In April, the Trump administration fired the entire staff of the federal office that administers LIHEAP and delivers funding to states. President Trump then asked Congress to eliminate all funding for the program — about $4 billion, $8 million of which went to Hawaiʻi this fiscal year.
Utilities disconnections have been on the rise in recent years, and Morishige worries that if H-HEAP's energy assistance isn't available, some households might face difficult choices.
"Where does your limited household budget go? Does it go to your rent for housing? Does it go to food for your family? Does it go to keep the lights on?" he said.
Energy assistance is climate adaptation
The proposed cuts to LIHEAP also come as more people across the country are relying on indoor cooling to escape deadly heat.
Last week, the Midwest and the East Coast endured scorching temperatures that exposed nearly 130 million people to dangerous heat levels.
In the past, Hawaiʻi's mild temperatures have largely spared people from the ill effects of extreme heat. But Hawaiʻi's climate is changing, according to James McCallen, the co-founder of the Climate Change and Health Working Group.
"Temperatures are already two degrees [Fahrenheit] hotter than they were back in the 1950s, and it's expected to increase," McCallen said.
The working group has been investigating how climate impacts, including extreme heat, will affect the health of Hawaiʻi residents.
McCallen believes that making sure people can afford electricity for cooling is an important public health measure.
"Climate change is a public health issue, and so utility assistance programs like LIHEAP are an example of climate adaptation," he said.
Last legislative session, state lawmakers considered allocating state funding to beef up Hawaiʻi's Home Energy Assistance Program. The measure had broad support, including from the working group, but it ultimately failed to pass.
McCallen hopes state lawmakers will take up the issue again next year, especially in light of looming federal cuts.
"Temperatures are rising, and so the need for cooling assistance is rising. And so programs like LIHEAP, funded by the state, can really help people to pay for these costs when we do also know that almost half of households in Hawaiʻi live paycheck to paycheck," he said.
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