The General Assembly voted unanimously Wednesday to authorize an extra $17 million to bolster energy assistance programs and enable thousands of households to receive an extra $410 in aid this winter.

The House voted 147-0 to approve $13.5 million for the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program and another $3.5 million for Operation Fuel. House approval came less than 30 minutes after the Senate voted 35-0 to adopt this emergency measure.

Gov. Ned Lamont, whose administration helped negotiate the deal, signed the bill shortly after the House vote.

“We don’t have more time to wait with the need out there,” said Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, co-chairman of the Human Services Committee. “This is Valentine’s Day, and moving this bill forward is an act of love.”

Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, D-West Hartford, the other co-chair of the Human Services panel, said during a press conference before the House debate that thousands of low-income households that participate in assistance programs already have exhausted their benefits with three months to go in the traditional heating season.

“We have an obligation to ensure that Connecticut residents remain warm this winter,” she added.

Lawmakers had announced a deal with Lamont late Tuesday to repurpose $13.5 million in unexpended federal coronavirus pandemic relief from the $2.8 billion tranche state government received through the American Rescue Plan Act enacted by Congress in late 2021.

But Lesser said legislative leaders and the administration decided Wednesday to add another $3.5 million to CEAP, the state’s primary energy assistance program, bringing the total added funding there to $13.5 million.

Those additional funds, Lesser said, would be enough to cover a supplemental $410 payment for all households — an estimated 16,600 — that utilize home heating oil or propane and that have already exhausted their CEAP benefits. 

Households that rely on electricity or natural gas for heating also are eligible for the CEAP program. But state law already prohibits utilities from shutting off service during winter months to delinquent households. There is no requirement, though, that heating oil or propane companies deliver fuel to families that cannot pay.

“We know that children can’t learn and can’t thrive if they’re sitting in a home that’s freezing,” said Sen. Ceci Maher, D-Wilton.

CEAP, which is administered by the state Department of Social Services, distributes federal Low Income Household Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds and is facing severe cutbacks. Congress rolled back LIHEAP funding this year to pre-pandemic levels. Connecticut has about $85 million to distribute this winter — well below the $110 million-plus it awarded last year and the smallest amount since the winter of 2018-19.

“Federal funding has returned to pre pandemic levels, but the need out there has not,” Lesser added.

More than 70,280 households have been approved for CEAP benefits this winter through Jan. 27, according to Department of Social Services records. That’s up 10% from last winter and more than 40% ahead of the pre-pandemic pace.

Social services officials estimated last August that the maximum amount the poorest household could receive was $1,350, based on available federal funds. That’s down almost $1,000 from last year’s top benefit, while many other families stand to receive hundreds of dollars less than they did last winter.

With the supplemental funding approved Wednesday, some households now will receive as much as $1,760 this winter.

Lamont, who has been wary to use state resources to fund a winter energy assistance program that traditionally has been paid for primarily with federal grants, called the energy assistance “an important safeguard to assist our most vulnerable residents, seniors, and families with children.”

The Democratic governor added that “I continue to urge bipartisan leaders in Congress to follow the example of what Connecticut’s Congressional delegation have repeatedly demanded: more federal funding for LIHEAP next winter.”

But Republican state legislators, who have pushed for the past two years to supplement CEAP’s budget with state funds, argued Wednesday that temporary federal pandemic grants, which largely will be exhausted after this year, isn’t a sufficient fix.

“The benefits and the applications keep going up,” said Rep. Jay Case of Litchfield, ranking House Republican on the Human Services Committee. “And ARPA is running out.”

Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly of Stratford said at least $30 million in state resources should have been added for energy assistance, noting that households are seeing less aid year after year, all while battling inflation.

The maximum CEAP benefit two years ago was $4,800, and last year it stood at $2,320.

“While the state’s budget is pretty good,” Kelly said, referring to a $645 million surplus projected for this fiscal year and more than $3.3 billion in the emergency budget reserve, or rainy day fund, Connecticut families “are feeling the pinch.”

Besides the funds for CEAP, lawmakers also awarded $3.5 million for Operation Fuel, a Hartford-based energy assistance nonprofit.

According to Gannon Long, Operation Fuel’s chief program officer, it has received about 3,000 applications for aid since it opened its winter energy assistance program on Jan. 8, well above normal demand.

“We see the demand for energy assistance increasing every year, and we want to be able to help Connecticut families the best that we can,” Long said Wednesday, praising lawmakers and the governor for the emergency measure.

Claire Coleman, the state’s consumer counsel and chairwoman of Connecticut’s Low Income Energy Advisory Board, also thanked officials for recognizing growing needs.

“Today’s passage … means direct relief for thousands of residents across the state,” Coleman said. “This action, appropriately taken on the heels of a major snowstorm, will help families and seniors struggling to cover costs on fixed incomes endure the remainder of this winter season without resorting to dangerous heating practices or going cold.”