Applications for home heating assistance will be accepted beginning Wednesday in New York, the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance said.

The Home Energy Assistance Program, or HEAP, can provide up to $976 this winter to help low- and middle-income households and older adults keep their homes warm and cope with high energy costs.

“HEAP provides valuable financial assistance that will help hundreds of thousands of our most vulnerable New Yorkers pay their energy bills,” Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Acting Commissioner Barbara C. Guinn said. “I encourage all eligible households to apply to help reduce the costs they incur to keep their homes warm throughout the heating season.”

A family of four may have a maximum gross monthly income of $5,838, or an annual gross income of $70,059 and still qualify for benefits.

More than 1.7 million HEAP benefits were issued last winter totaling more than $434 million.