Government of New Brunswick

Overview

The emergency fuel benefit is designed to provide assistance to eligible households to assist with the costs of winter heating.

Eligibility

Any household in New Brunswick that is in an emergency situation and unable to afford the cost of heating its home may be eligible to receive this benefit. The department will assess eligibility on a case-by-case basis

Description

An emergency fuel benefit of up to $550 per calendar year may be provided to eligible New Brunswick households whether or not they are receiving social assistance. This benefit is provided to eligible applicants regardless of what type of heating they use.

Examples of an emergency situation include:

• a high heating bill due to the cold, which means that you are not able to pay your rent or mortgage;
• having to choose between feeding your family and paying your winter heating bill; or
• an illness resulting in unexpected high medical costs, which have made it hard to pay your heating bill.

For the purpose of assessing need for the emergency fuel benefit, the department will assess all household expenses, but remove the requirement that assets be depleted in order to qualify for assistance.

The asset exemption will ensure that items such as investments (RSPs, GICs etc.), life insurance cash value, etc. are not considered in determining if the household is in need of an emergency fuel benefit, and cash-in-hand and bank accounts will only be considered if they exceed $2,000. This will allow people to seek assistance for a present-day emergency without sacrificing savings for the future.

All New Brunswick households who find themselves in an emergency situation may apply for the emergency fuel benefit, because eligibility will be assessed on the basis of whether or not a household is in deficit, based on income and expenses. A benefit of up to $550 per calendar year could be provided, depending on the size of the household deficit.