LIHEAP-AT-2025-02 LIHEAP Performance Data Form for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program

Action Transmittal

AT#: ACF-OCS-LIHEAP-AT-2025-02

DATE: December 9, 2024

TO: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) State Grant Recipients, Including the District of Columbia, and Other Interested Parties

SUBJECT: LIHEAP Performance Data Form for federal Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24)

ATTACHMENT(S): 

A. Instructions for the LIHEAP Performance Data Form for FY24
B. Word Template of LIHEAP Performance Data Form for FY24

RELATED REFERENCES:

Section 2610(b) of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act, Title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, Public Law 97-35, as amended; Administration for Children and Family’s (ACF’s) annual Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Performance Data Form (OMB Control No. 0970-0449; form Expiration Date — February 28, 2025).

PURPOSE:

1. To advise state LIHEAP grant recipients and the District of Columbia that the deadline for submitting the LIHEAP Performance Data Form (LPDF) for federal Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), the period of October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024, is January 31, 2025.
2. To advise state LIHEAP grant recipients and the District of Columbia that the LPDF for FY24 must be submitted to the Office of Community Services (OCS) using the Online Data Collection (OLDC) system .
3. To advise state LIHEAP grant recipients and the District of Columbia that the only substantive change to the LPDF is the exclusion of supplemental funds from sources other than the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) — either by hiding or locking the items related to unavailable funds or by calling for the exclusion of those funds in the instructions.
4. To advise state LIHEAP grant recipients and the District of Columbia that OCS has pre-populated information in Module 1 (the Grantee Survey). All fields in Section III “Estimated Sources of LIHEAP Funds” are pre-populated or auto-calculated based on OCS records. Grant recipients should review the pre-populated values to verify they are correct.
5. To provide state LIHEAP grant recipients and the District of Columbia with resources to assist with completing the FY24 LPDF, including the instructions document  (DOCX), key reporting tips, and reporting reminders.

BACKGROUND:

The LIHEAP Performance Data Form is an annual report in response to Section 2610(b) of the LIHEAP statute (42 U.S.C. § 8629(b)), which requires the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit, no later than June 30 of each FY, a report to Congress on LIHEAP for the prior FY.

The LIHEAP Performance Data Form for FY24 consists of five modules:

• Module 1 (Grantee Survey)
• Modules 2 (LIHEAP Performance Measures [Consists of Modules 2A, 2B, and 2C])
• Module 3 (Optional Performance Measures)

Module 1 (Grantee Survey) collects LIHEAP data on sources and uses of funds, average benefits, and maximum income cutoffs for four-person households for each type of LIHEAP assistance provided in FY24. All state LIHEAP grant recipients and the District of Columbia are required to complete this module.

Modules 2 (Performance Measures) collect LIHEAP data on energy burden targeting, the restoration of home energy service, and the prevention of loss of home energy service during FY24. All state LIHEAP grant recipients and the District of Columbia are required to complete modules 2A, 2B, and 2C.

Module 3 (Optional Performance Measures) allows state LIHEAP grant recipients and the District of Columbia to voluntarily report additional LIHEAP data on energy burden targeting, the restoration of home energy service, and the prevention of loss of home energy service during FY24. Module 3 is optional.

Please note that Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and territories do not complete this form.

CONTENT:

FORM EXTENSION AND RENEWAL

The LIHEAP Performance Data Form (LPDF) expires February 28, 2025. ACF has requested the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend the current version of this form through June 30, 2025 and approve the revision of the FY25-FY26 version starting July 1, 2025. On December 2, 2024, ACF issued a Federal Register Notice that announced these plans. OCS encourages and welcomes public comments concerning the proposed changes.

SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES TO FY24 REPORTING - Module 1

In Items 1 through 15 and Questions 1 and 2 of Section IV of Module 1, the report calls for excluding all supplemental funds rather than only supplemental funds from the IIJA.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

• Each state LIHEAP grant recipient and the District of Columbia will need to enter their final report information into their specific location in OLDC by January 31, 2025. Pre-populated information will be entered into OLDC for funds available during FY24. Any such recipient that has questions about accessing OLDC should contact its regional LIHEAP liaison.
• Once the recipient’s LPDF for FY24 has been submitted, OCS’ contractor, APPRISE Incorporated (APPRISE), will review the report, notify the recipient of any reporting questions, and assist with resolving any potential reporting issues. Each state LIHEAP grant recipient and the District of Columbia will be notified to confirm the completeness of its report.

REPORTING RESOURCES

This action transmittal includes Attachment A - Instructions for the LIHEAP Performance Data Form for Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 (PDF) to assist grant recipients with preparing their reports.

On behalf of OCS, APPRISE recently conducted training webinars on Completing the FY24 LIHEAP Performance Data Form — Module 1 (Grantee Survey). This webinar is located on the LIHEAP Tools Training Resources webpage.

APPRISE will deliver another webinar, Completing the FY2024 LIHEAP Performance Data Form — Modules 2 (Performance Measures), on December 10, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET. Grant recipients may register for that webinar to attend virtually. This webinar recording will be posted to the LIHEAP Tools Training Resources webpage shortly after the webinar.

KEY REPORTING TIPS

Please review the following reporting tips as they will enhance the quality and timeliness of submitting and finalizing reported LIHEAP data:

• Cross check for consistency. Check that the types of LIHEAP assistance reported on the LIHEAP Household Report and the LPDF are consistent with each other. Also, the types of LIHEAP assistance provided in FY24 need to be consistent with what is indicated in your state’s LIHEAP Model plan for FY24, with all amendments included. Amounts of unobligated funds that you carried over to the next FY in the LPDF should match the equivalent amounts on your FY24 Carryover and Reallotment Report and your FY24 Federal Financial Reports (SF-425s).
• Use the “Notes” section. Clarify data in the “Notes” section of the form to explain why there may be missing or incomplete data and what is being done to rectify the problem(s).

IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR REPORT SUBMITTERS

• "Uses of Funds" represents your obligation of federal LIHEAP funds, not expenditure of federal LIHEAP funds. In some cases, obligated funds are not actually expended until after the end of the fiscal year.
• The total “Sources of All Funds” (shown in Item 15 of Section III of Module 1) must equal the total “Uses of All Funds” (shown in Item 49 of Section IV of Module 1).
• Report the maximum annual or annualized dollar income for a four-person household in effect on October 1, 2023.
• Exclude the U.S. Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program funds in reporting on obligated federal LIHEAP weatherization funds, if any, in Section IV of the form.
• Report on all federal LIHEAP funds used to provide "other LIHEAP assistance." For the most part, this would include "other crisis assistance" to provide furnace or air conditioner repairs or replacements.
• Report on all federal LIHEAP funds obligated for "Other Permitted Uses of LIHEAP Funds." This includes Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households that were provided a nominal non-crisis LIHEAP payment.
• OCS has pre-populated the “Sources of Funds” figures in Section III. Make sure that the figures on these items agree with those of your records. Items 5 and 12 of Section III are editable and can be updated by you, but all other items are locked from editing. Please review the instructions for further guidance on pre-populated data.
• The data reported in Modules 2 (Performance Measures) should include households assisted with federal LIHEAP funds. The “Average Annual Total LIHEAP Benefit per Household” amounts in Parts V of Modules 2 should reflect all LIHEAP bill payment assistance benefits.

AVAILABLE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE:

OCS has contracted with APPRISE to assist state LIHEAP grant recipients and the District of Columbia in completing their LPDFs for FY24. APPRISE will contact these recipients, if necessary, to correct data errors or missing data identified in their reports. The goal of the technical assistance available from our office and our contractor, APPRISE, is to assist grant recipients with identifying and resolving issues to facilitate successful and timely submission of reports.

Grant recipients requiring assistance to complete their report should contact their regional LIHEAP liaison and APPRISE as soon as possible.

INQUIRIES:

For questions regarding accurate completion of the LPDF, contact:

Peter Edelman, Program Analyst
Division of Energy Assistance
Office of Community Services
Administration for Children and Families
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
330 C Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
(202) 401-5292 (Voice)
(202) 401-5661 (Fax)
peter.edelman@acf.hhs.gov

Thank you for your attention to these matters. OCS looks forward to continuing to provide high-quality services to OCS partners.

/s/
Megan Meadows
Director, Division of Energy Assistance
Office of Community Services