Efforts to weatherize Maine’s low-income households will get a big boost from the federal stimulus package.

The White House on Thursday announced that $69.2 million in stimulus money – part of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – for weatherization projects and energy-efficiency grants is headed to Maine over the next 18 months.

That money will balloon the state’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program weatherization effort. The state devoted $2.8 million to weatherization in this fiscal year. That paid for weather-stripping, insulation and other improvements to 814 homes – about $3,479 per home, according to Dan Simpson, communications manager for the Maine State Housing Authority. The LIHEAP program is managed by the housing authority on the state level.

The state’s weatherization budget through LIHEAP will increase to $41.9 million with the new federal money.

“What we anticipate, that’s going to be a substantial difference,” Simpson said. “It greatly expands what we do. We should be able to do 4,000 homes, not 814.”

Simpson said he didn’t expect program eligibility to change. LIHEAP is open to people with annual incomes of 170 percent of the federal poverty level – about $36,000 for a family of four.

“Basically, if you qualify for LIHEAP, you’re eligible for weatherization help,” Simpson said.

In Androscoggin and Oxford counties, LIHEAP is managed by Community Concepts.

“It’s a big difference for us, but it’s still a drop in the bucket,” said Dana Stevens, director of housing and energy services for Community Concepts.

The group has had about $900,000 to spend, letting it weatherize 102 homes in the two counties. The stimulus money will bring an estimated $3.9 million locally, letting the agency weatherize another 560 homes.

Stevens said he had a list of 7,500 eligible households waiting for LIHEAP weatherization.

“So when you look at 560 (homes), that’s still a drop in the bucket,” Stevens said.

He said Community Concepts would hire additional auditors to perform energy audits and more subcontractors to do repairs.

“So that will give the subcontractors more of a reason to hire people and train them,” he said.