Lower energy costs and higher than usual temperatures at this time of year promise to make it a lot easier for the tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders who depend on federal assistance to pay their winter heating bills.

There’s even more good news.

According to Fred Sneesby, administrator with the Department of Human Services, while heating costs don’t look to be as much as they have been in prior years, the per-homeowner Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, grant will remain in the range of $800. According to the state Office of Energy Resources, the average cost of home heating oil as of Dec. 14 was $1.98 a gallon, or roughly a dollar less than it was at this time last year.

Locally, the program is administered by Westbay Community Action. Westbay director Paul Salera said last week that federal funds are beginning to flow, and that grants are being made. Funds are paid directly to vendors. Most of the money goes to home heating oil distributors, although grant funding also pays for other “deliverables,” including kerosene, propane, and firewood.

That should also be good news to a caller to the Beacon, a senior citizen who lives alone, who questioned when the funding would kick in. The homeowner, who asked not to be identified, said he owes his heating oil distributor about $600. He can’t make the payment and his tank is nearly empty.

Salera said the first of the payments started going out last week. He explained under the program, no more than 25 percent of a recipient’s outstanding balance is paid with grant funds, with the remaining funds used to pay for a current delivery.

Salera sees the combination of lower oil prices and warmer weather so far this winter season as a boon. Even should the temperatures slide, lower energy prices will serve to extend the return of each grant. As a result, he anticipates there will be a reduced demand for “crisis” payments that are awarded when people have depleted their allocation and still find they can’t make it through the colder months.

“If it stays like this [for the rest of the winter], I’d be happy,” he said.

Salera said Westbay administers about $2.4 million to $2.5 million in LIHEAP funding annually, which goes to about 4,000 households.

On a state level, Sneesby said the Rhode Island LIHEAP grant for this year is $23.3 million, and based on last year’s figures would go to about 34,000 households.

Sneesby expects an improving economy will also reduce program demand. Eligibility for assistance is based on 60 percent of the median income in the state. In the case of a family of four, that threshold is $53,752, Sneesby said.

Not all the federal LIHEAP funds coming to the state are earmarked for the purchase of energy. Sneesby said 15 percent goes into weatherization that can be combined with energy efficient grants through the Department of Energy. Some funding is used for an assistance program to get people off the program, and to cover administrative costs.

“The grants will stay the same, and what happens from there is a guessing game,” Sneesby said when asked if he thought lower heating costs could translate into grant reductions going forward.

Sneesby applauded the state’s congressional delegation for ensuring that the program had sufficient funding to meet demands. During last winter’s extended low temperatures, the delegation was able to secure $27 million in LIHEAP money.

“In recent years we have never had to say no,” Sneesby said. He said federal funds not spent in one year would carry over to the next year.

That is not the case for those in the program. If the household allotment is not fully expended, it does not build a credit going into the next year. Those seeking the assistance must apply annually for the program.