HONOLULU —The federal government has released $1.5 million to Hawaii to help low-income residents with their heating bills during October, November and December.

The announcement was made Thursday in a news release issued by the office of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
The funding for Hawaii, the other 49 states, territories and tribes comes in the form of grants under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. It helps eligible families pay the costs of heating and insulating their homes in the winter, and cooling their homes in the summer.
In all, the grants total $2.6 billion, with Hawaii receiving the smallest amount. The next smallest — $5 million — went to Washington state. New York state received the largest grant of $359 million.