缅因州10月1日起为低收入家庭自动减免电费：4000万美元电费援助计划启动
缅因州奥古斯塔讯——缅因州州长珍妮特·米尔斯（Janet Mills）宣布，自2026年10月1日起，该州数以万计符合条件的低收入家庭将自动获得电费减免，无需另行申请。州卫生与公众服务部将利用补充营养援助计划（SNAP）、贫困家庭临时援助（TANF）以及缅因州医疗补助计划（MaineCare）等项目的现有数据，识别符合资格的家庭，并将信息安全共享给参与计划的电力公司，由电力公司直接在每月电费账单上抵扣。
这笔总计4000万美元的电费减免资金来自缅因州低收入援助计划（LIAP），覆盖中央缅因电力公司（CMP）与 Versant 电力的符合条件用户。州长办公室表示，此举旨在应对持续高企的能源价格，减轻低收入家庭的冬季取暖与用电负担。米尔斯此前还致信缅因州国会代表团，呼吁国会增加低收入家庭能源援助计划（LIHEAP）的联邦拨款，称现有拨款不足以应对油价与电价上涨带来的需求。
与此同时，缅因州住房管理局（MaineHousing）已提前发放近400万美元的家庭能源援助计划（HEAP）款项，直接支付给燃料供应商，帮助约4400户最脆弱家庭在寒冬到来前备足取暖燃料。优先对象包括有老年人、幼儿和残障人士的家庭。
州能源办公室指出，缅因州冬季漫长，取暖支出占低收入家庭收入的比重远高于平均水平。自动减免机制避免了传统申请制下大量符合条件家庭因不知情或手续繁琐而错过援助的问题。电力公司将在未来几周内陆续在账单上体现折扣，居民如对资格有疑问可联系州卫生与公众服务部查询。
（综合缅因州州长办公室、州能源办公室10月通讯报道）
Maine Begins Automatic Electric Bill Discounts for Low-Income Families on Oct. 1 Under $40 Million Aid Program
AUGUSTA, Maine — Beginning October 1, 2026, tens of thousands of eligible low-income households in Maine will automatically receive discounts on their electric bills, Governor Janet Mills announced. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services will use existing data from programs such as SNAP, TANF and MaineCare to identify eligible households, securely share the information with participating utilities, and have the discounts applied directly to monthly electric bills — no separate application required.
The $40 million in relief comes through Maine's Low Income Assistance Program (LIAP) and covers eligible customers of Central Maine Power (CMP) and Versant Power. The governor's office said the move is aimed at easing the burden of persistently high energy prices on low-income families ahead of winter. Mills has also written to Maine's congressional delegation urging Congress to boost federal funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), saying current funding is insufficient to meet demand driven by surging fuel and electricity prices.
Separately, MaineHousing has issued nearly $4 million in early Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) payments directly to fuel vendors, helping about 4,400 of the state's most vulnerable households secure heating fuel before cold weather arrives. Priority households include those with older adults, young children and people with disabilities.
The state energy office noted that Maine's long winters make heating costs a disproportionate share of low-income household budgets. The automatic enrollment avoids the problem of eligible families missing out on aid because they did not know about it or found the paperwork too cumbersome. Utilities will begin reflecting the discounts on bills in the coming weeks; residents with eligibility questions may contact the Department of Health and Human Services.
(Compiled from the Maine Governor's Office and the state energy office's October newsletter.)
图片来源：图：缅因州议会大厦（奥古斯塔）彩色航拍。摄影：Quintin Soloviev，CC BY 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
