THE ANNUAL cold war starts early this year.

We're referring to the annual battle for people to get help with their heating bills through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Usually, it's not until October or November that we begin hearing signs of worry that the state-administered LIHEAP, managed by the Department of Public Welfare, will not be able to cover as many needy people as the year before.

The federal government establishes the appropriation for LIHEAP, and sends money to the states. Most states also add their own funds to the program, though Pennsylvania is an exception.

Not only does Pennsylvania not have state LIHEAP funds, but every year seems to go out of its way to make the federal dollars do less, not more. For example, this year, although Congress is expected to approve the same amount as last year - $5.1 billion - and send the same $274 million to Pennsylvania as it did last year, the state is budgeting to spend less. The money is distributed in a combination of cash grants for people to pay utility bills and crisis grants to restore service or to keep customers from being terminated.

To add insult to injury, the state is also pushing for changes that would curtail the time the funds are available and the number of people who can get assistance. For example, the program usually runs from Nov. 1 and ends in mid-March or April. This year, the state wants to shorten the length of time for the program - the cash grants would be available on Dec. 1 and end Jan. 3, with crisis grants available from Jan. 4 to March 15.

THIS IS ONLY the first of many insults. In fact, the Public Utility Commission has taken the welcome step of challenging the state on this and other damaging changes. Another change the PUC objects to: The state will no longer consider a utility shutoff notice as an emergency - even though this runs counter to the state's public-utility code.

The PUC and others object to the shortened calendar, especially because the utility shutoff moratorium doesn't start until Dec. 1. This means that more people will be exposed to shut-offs without financial assistance because they won't have gotten the assistance in November.

The PUC is also concerned that the state will reduce the amount of money that can be applied to bills of low-income customers in Customer Assistance Programs (CAP). That should be a concern to everyone because regular customers subsidize CAP by paying higher energy rates.

None of these changes bodes well for people struggling with a harsh economy. Philadelphians may be hit even harder, since the agency that has administered emergency grants for many years, the Energy Coordinating Agency, will no longer manage the program, and it's still being determined who will.

LIHEAP is designed to help; the hurt that the state's proposals would inflict is widespread - not only on people trying to heat their homes, but on all ratepayers, as well as utilities, including independent fuel dealers. That won't help the local economy, either. With social services already being damaged by the state's budget battles, these changes seem especially cruel.