Some of National Grid’s customers in need of help with heating expenses this winter could benefit from a $10,000 donation to a fund to help them.

The Care & Share Energy Fund, a low-income heating fund established by National Grid in 1981, was the recipient of the grant from Dominion Transmission, a provider of gas transportation and storage services, which offered a similar donation last year for National Grid’s customers.

“Our customers are no strangers to the extreme cold weather we have experienced this weather,” said Ken Daly, National Grid’s New York president.

“Receiving this donation today is particularly meaningful as temperatures across upstate are extremely low and energy usage is highest. Thanks to the generosity of Dominion Transmission, National Grid’s Care & Share program will continue to support our customers who need assistance the most.”

The fund, administered by National Grid’s long-standing partner HeartShare Human Services of New York, provides grants of up to $200 a year to eligible low-income families who need help paying their winter heating bills. In 2014, the fund helped about 5,600 National Grid upstate New York customers stay warm during winter. National Grid also offered low-income customers a package of emergency relief programs that included:

• a one-time $20 bill credit for 110,000 customers

• one-time arrears forgiveness of $250 for 3,000 customers

• an additional $1 million shareholder donation to reopen the Care & Share Energy Fund to provide one-time grants of up to $250 to over 4,000 customers who were facing disconnection. Close to 1,900 customers received a grant up to $200 during the 2014 program.

National Grid customers can apply for Care & Share funds by visiting intake centers across upstate New York. A full listing of centers can be found by calling HeartShare at 855-852-2736.

To apply for Care & Share by telephone in an area where there is no local agency accepting applications, customers can to call 718-422-4207 or 718-422-4228 and a HeartShare representative will take the application over the phone. Care & Share information can also be found at www.heartshare.org/care.

Dominion Transmission’s parent company, Dominion, has also developed its own energy assistance program. Since the program’s inception in 1982, the program has helped more than half a million people facing financial hardships stay comfortable in their own homes.