It may not be a whole lot of money but a fair number of Michigan households — 288,000 to be exact — are in line to receive an out-of-the-blue payment from the state government this month.

The money, $22 per household, will be paid to those which received Home Heating Credits in 2018, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury.

The payments are the result of a $6.5 million supplemental remaining in 2018 federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program block grant received by Michigan, a treasury department press release states.

The additional payment will be generated automatically. Eligible households do not need to do anything to receive the payment.

Recipients of the additional credit are households that filed a 2018 MI-1040CR-7 Home Heating Credit Claim and qualified for the credit.

Treasury will mail checks to all households that are eligible for the supplemental Home Heating Credit, the press release states.

Recipients are expected to apply the LIHEAP payment to their household heating costs. The credit cannot be replaced or reissued.

In our estimation, $22 will heat many Upper Peninsula homes in late January for, perhaps, one day or so. So the impact here will be minimal.

That said, any money from Lansing must be considered good money, even if it is a modest sum.

— The Mining Journal (Marquette)