Michael Love sees signs of a freezing winter that have nothing to do with woolly worms.

He's worried about LIHEAP, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Reduced income-eligibility limits and other changes to the program this year promise to put a chill on the needy, predicts Love, president and CEO of the Energy Association of Pennsylvania, a trade group for utility companies.

"There are 20,000 people who are going to get LIHEAP applications in the mail" this month Love said. "They are going to be denied."

Love said he's perplexed by the changes, given that the federal funding earmarked for LIHEAP - $5.1 billion -is the same as last year.

Stacey Witalec, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, which is administering LIHEAP, says it has budgeted for the program based on the temporary funding actually in hand.

The feds have yet to pass a final spending plan, said Witalec, who added that auxiliary funding sources typically available to LIHEAP also have dried up.

Harrisburg would consider expanding income eligibility guidelines if Washington allocates more money, Witalec said.

Love said the need for beefing up LIHEAP is dire, given that Pennsylvania has shed thousands of jobs this fall. He called on the welfare department to request $10 million in supplemental funding he says is available through the state's energy fund.

The current LIHEAP program started Nov. 2.

No one has complained about it so far, said Vanessa Rodriguez, legislative aide to Rep. Mike Sturla. However, she added, rejections and ringing phones are possible in the coming weeks.

"A lot of people that qualified for [LIHEAP] last year are not going to qualify for it this year."

According to Love, the state has "dramatically" altered the LIHEAP program, "all to the detriment of consumers."

The income guideline was one of the biggest changes.

This year, for example, a family of four would not be eligible for assistance if earning more than $33,075 a year. That's about $11,000 less than last year's income cutoff.

Also, charity officials report, maximum crisis allocation awards to help families cope with emergencies, such as utility shutoffs, fuel shortages and equipment failures, have been reduced from $800 to $400.

Love said the crisis component now kicks in Jan. 4 instead of Nov. 2.

Witalec said LIHEAP is simply returning to normal.

"Last year was an exception because we received an exceptional amount of money from the federal government," she said.

Also, Witalec said, because the weather was cold and the economy bad in 2008-09, the program ended with a zero balance.

In previous years, it carried over anywhere from $3-12 million to jump-start the new season, Witalec noted. "That's a change from last year."

But LIHEAP managers have always filled the need, she added, and they expect to do so this time around. Frequent warm weather this fall has been a boon, said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association in Washington. So have lower prices for oil and natural gas.

Homeowners will be getting more bang for their LIHEAP buck, he said. "The pricing power of the program has increased."

Local charities are responding to the situation.

Lancaster County Community Foundation board members voted last week to tap their Family Aid Initiative program to provide $100,000 to local residents facing a home heating crisis and hit by job loss or work hours reduction.

With unemployment high, foundation President and CEO Sam Bressi said in a statement, "The biggest concern going into the winter months was home heating costs."

The grant will be distributed by the Community Action Program of Lancaster County to help pay for deliveries of heating oil and kerosene "at a time of great need," Ann Floyd, director of outreach, said in a press release.

CAP will accept applications for assistance specific to the grant through December. (For information on the fuel assistance program, call CAP at 800-732-0018 and ask for the outreach program.)

The grant could help up to 250 eligible families, Floyd estimated.

United Way has no LIHEAP makeup money available. However, said Toni McCuistion, director of United Way LINK, the 24-hour hotline at 291-5462 can refer beleaguered consumers to case-by-case help.

People can get energy audits from utility companies, for example, McCuistion said. They can contact weatherization programs.

And, of course, McCuistion said, everyone is hoping that the winter will be mild. "We'll just have to keep our fingers crossed that the weather cooperates with us."

Contact Jon Rutter, Sunday News Staff Writer, at jrutter@lnpnews.com.