PORTLAND (AP) — Federal heating aid to low-income Mainers has been delayed primarily because of the federal budget battle and government shutdown last month.

A spokeswoman for MaineHousing, which oversees the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program in Maine, said the agency usually knows by October how much funding it will receive.

By Friday, the agency still hadn’t heard from the federal government about the amount or when it would arrive.

“We’re still encouraging people to apply for the program, but when they call, we can’t tell them what their benefit amount might be,” said Deborah Turcotte, the MaineHousing’s spokeswoman.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services tells the Portland Press Herald that the funding is expected soon.

In past years, MaineHousing had started sending payments to fuel dealers for aid recipients by early or mid-November.

Mike Tarpinian, CEO of Opportunity Alliance, the community action agency that serves Cumberland County, said the first checks are expected to be delivered by Nov. 15.

“So we just have to hang on until then. Luckily, the weather has been warm, but if we have a cold stretch, that’s when the demand will really pick up,” Tarpinian said