TRURO - A provincial program providing financial relief for home heating costs will once again be offered this year.
Applications for the Heating Assistance Rebate Program (HARP), which offers eligible applicants a rebate of up to $200, are now available for the 2012-13 winter season.
Last winter, more than 51,000 Nova Scotians received the rebate. They will receive a filled-in application form to encourage them to re-apply, but must continue to meet program requirements to receive the rebate.
Households with net annual incomes of less than $42,000, and people who make less than $27,000, who purchase oil, natural gas, wood, wood pellets, propane, electricity, or coal qualify.
Applications are available at all Access Nova Scotia centres, MLA offices, Community Services' offices, online at www.homeheatinghelp.ca , or by calling 1-800-670-4357.
It may take up to six weeks for completed applications to be processed and eligible Nova Scotians to receive the rebate.
In addition to HARP, the province helps all Nova Scotians with the high costs of home heating by automatically removing the provincial portion of the HST from home heating bills and by helping low-income homeowners with energy saving upgrades. The Good Neighbour Energy Fund helps low-income Nova Scotians heat their homes in emergency situations.
