Under a new formula adopted by the Obama administration, colder states like Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and even Alaska are seeing a huge drop in emergency federal funding for low income energy assistance. In Maine, it translates to a decline of about 80 percent. Southern states, meanwhile, are reaping the rewards. And all four members of Maine's congressional delegation have joined representatives from other affected states in demanding that the formula be reexamined.

Every year the federal government releases millions of dollars in emergency funding for the Low Income Energy Asssistance Program known as LIHEAP. And usually, every year, Maine gets a sizeable portion. Last year it was close to $30 million.

But this year? Less than five. Meanwhile, New Hampshire dropped from $13 million to less than $3 million. Vermont saw a nearly 80 percent drop in its contingency funding and Massachusetts and Rhode Island also found themselves on the short end of the stick.

"There's a lot of outrage going on about this and I think you'll see a lot of protesting over the formula," says Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree. Pingree says the problem is that the administration's new methadology relies on factors such as population, relative changes in unemployment, income and temperature.

"They looked at states like ours where unemployment was stabilizing, or the weather hadn't had dramatic shifts for the cold and they went to states that had unusual temperature drops," Pingree says. "But I think what they're forgetting is: We already had a high unemployment rate, we're already suffering and have many elderly. And we're having a normally cold winter, which we always do."

Among the states that have benefitted: Flordia, Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama, just to name a few. Pingree, along with fellow Democratic Congressman Mike Michaud, have signed onto a letter from other U.S. House members asking for more help for cold weather states such as Maine, and for a more reasoned approach to LIHEAP distribution in the future.

Republican Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe are also making their frustration known in a similar letter signed by their Senate colleagues. Snowe says the new formula is "based on logic that demonstrates a lack of understanding about the intent of the LIHEAP." She could not be reached for comment for this story. But in a written statement this week, Snowe said she is also concerned about the Administration's plan to cut LIHEAP funding by $1.8 billion in the current budget.

Dale McCormick is executive director of the Maine State Housing Authority, which administers Maine's LIHEAP program. She says Maine will probably be okay this year. But next year could be different. "What got us in good shape this year was what we could carry over from last year. Well, we're not going to have anything to carry over if we continue to get 80 percent less of what we got last year."

Currently, there are about 70,000 Maine households being served by the LIHEAP program, with the average benefit of about $800. Meanwhile, Snowe says Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has told her that she will provide further details about the new LIHEAP formula, which Snowe characterizes as an "unacceptable change from historical funding methods and levels."

Calls to the Department of Health and Human Services and to the White House Press Office were not returned.