WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester Community Action Council on Wednesday kicked off its energy and home heating assistance program.

The WCAC helps low-income households in the Worcester area pay home heating bills or past due utility bills from November to April. To be eligible, a single person must make less than $45,392 a year, and a family of four must earn less than $87,294. 

The WCAC has already received about 6,000 applications for the season. Director of energy resources Mary Knittle said the price of oil has gone down from a year ago, but she's still expecting another busy heating season. 

"At this time last year, it was in the $6 range, this year its in the $3 range," she said. "It's still high. It's still expensive to live here and electric rates went up, they leveled off a bit, they're still high.

"We all know the cold sneaks up on people. Today was really cold, there was frost on my windshield this morning. We know it's coming, yet it's always a little bit alarming when it's here because we know winters can be harsh in New England. So this is a good time to pull your paperwork together."

There's no deadline to apply for assistance and the benefits are retroactive, dating back to Nov. 1. People can apply online, over the phone or in-person. 

The WCAC is asking for patience from those who apply. Knittle said it can take several weeks before an application is processed.