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Steamboat Springs — Low-income households in Routt County will receive less assistance with their energy bills this winter because of a drop in federal and state funding.

Ruth Ann Mewborn of the Routt County Human Services Department said this week that she already is seeing the results of a sharp decline in funding for LEAP, the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program.

"One (aid package) that I approved this morning was 50 percent less than last year," Mewborn said. "People just need to be aware that they're going to get less money this winter."

Mewborn said 277 Routt County households received LEAP assistance last year. LEAP helps low-income households, or households earning no more than 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, pay winter home-heating costs. LEAP assistance does not pay their entire cost.

To be eligible for LEAP, a one-member household may earn no more than $1,511 a month. The maximum income is $2,035 for a two-person household and $2,559 for a three-person household. A four-person household may earn no more than $3,083 a month. An eight-person household may earn no more than $5,180 a month.

Mewborn said LEAP receives federal funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and additional funding from the nonprofit organization Energy Outreach Colorado.

A recent report in The Denver Post said federal LEAP funding to Colorado is expected to decrease from $43 million last year to $31 million this year because of a projected 12 percent drop in natural gas prices. State funding for LEAP is expected to decrease from $20 million last year to $7 million this year.