Are you in an emergency where you are unable to afford the cost of heating your home? Is an unexpected cost making it hard to pay your heating bill?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, the Emergency Fuel Benefit may be able to help. This once per calendar year benefit provides up to $550 to eligible households who are unable to pay the costs of winter heating due to unavoidable and unforeseen situations.
What kind of heating costs does the benefit cover?
The Emergency Fuel Benefit can pay for any type of heat including:
- electric
- gas
- wood
- oil, and more.
How do I know if my situation is an emergency?
Examples of an emergency can include:
- An unexpected cost has led to your heat source being disconnected or a notice of disconnection, or
- You got sick and had unexpected high medical costs, that have made it hard to pay your heating bill.
Any household in New Brunswick in an emergency and unable to afford the cost of heating their home may be eligible for this benefit. The Department of Social Development will assess eligibility on a case-by-case basis.
The Benefit is not guaranteed. To be eligible, you must show that you’ve exhausted other options to pay your heating bill.
An assessment of your monthly income and expenses determines if you qualify for the Emergency Fuel Benefit. Your household will qualify if your expenses are more than what you earn each month.
You are not required to spend all your assets to get the Emergency Fuel Benefit. The following assets are not considered in the assessment:
- Investments like (Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), Guaranteed Income Certificates (GICs), etc.)
- Life insurance cash value
- Cash-in-hand and bank accounts under $2000
This allows people to apply for help now, without giving up savings for the future.
Everyone who applies for the Emergency Fuel Benefit will go through an application process to find out if they qualify.
Call Social Development at 1-833-733-7835. Press 1 for English or 2 for French. Then press 2. Tell the team member you would like to apply for the Emergency Fuel Benefit.
To help determine if you may be eligible, the agent will ask you some questions about your situation. They will also ask about your monthly income and expenses (rent/mortgage, transportation, food, bills, etc.).
If the agent thinks you may be eligible for the benefit, they will book you an in-person appointment with a Needs Assessor at your local Social Development office.
They may also tell you that you do not qualify. You have the right to ask for a review of this decision. If your circumstances change you are welcome to apply again in the future.
If you meet with the Needs Assessor, you will need to provide information about your household income and expenses. See the complete list of documents you may need in the “What do I need to apply?” section below.
If you don’t have the required documents during your appointment, you can drop them off later. The Needs Assessor cannot complete your application without the requested documents.
Once your application is complete, the Needs Assessor will tell you if you have been approved or not. If you are approved, a cheque will be mailed out to you. It usually takes a couple days for the cheque to be processed and then put in the mail.
After you receive the cheque, you can use it to cover your heating costs. You are not required to provide a receipt to the Department of Social Development.
Did you know that you can call your home heating provider and talk to them if you’re having trouble paying your heating bill? You can talk to them about your situation and ask about options for paying your bill like working out a payment plan. Below are the names and phone numbers for heat providers in New Brunswick.
- NB Power 1-800-663-6272
- Saint John Energy (506) 658-5252
- Edmundston Energy (506) 739-2106
- Perth-Andover Electric Light Commission (506) 273-4959
- Enbridge Gas New Brunswick 1-866-343-8427
Documents you may need to provide for yourself and any other adults living in the household are:
Income
- Pay stubs
- Notice of Assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
- Canada Pension Plan (CPP) statement
- Old Age Security (OAS) statement
- GST Credit
Expenses
- Clothing receipts
- Credit Cards statements
- Finance Company Loans
- Food receipts
- Heat bills
- House Insurance
- Housekeeping
- Hydro bill
- Life Insurance
- Medical Expenses
- Medical Transportation (Gas receipts)
- Mortgage
- NB Power Loans
- Other (ex. Funeral)
- Property Tax
- Rent
- Student Loan Payments
- Telephone bill
- Training
- Transportation
- Water & Sewage bill