PORTLAND – More than $6 million in new state funding and increased federal aid will enable hundreds of low-income Mainers to reduce their use of heating fuel this winter and beyond by adding insulation to their homes and eliminating air leaks.

The efforts target the homes of low-income Mainers who need help paying for heat this winter. By improving the efficiency of those homes, the programs are intended to reduce the need to buy fuel.

With much of the weatherization money already allocated, state and local groups are training energy auditors and contractors to perform the work. The Maine State Housing Authority in coordination with regional community action agencies will allocate most of the funds.

The funding should help improve the efficiency of 1,500 to 3,000 homes, said John Kerry, director of the Governor’s Office of Energy Independence

“Unfortunately, we have one of the oldest housing stocks in the nation, and in addition to that, we have the highest per capita number of people who heat with oil,” Kerry said.

Helping to pay for weatherization isn’t a new idea.

The federal government has provided as much as $3.5 million in weatherization funds annually in recent years that is allocated by regional aid agencies. That amount doubled this year along with an increase in emergency heating aid.

In addition, Gov. John Baldacci included $2 million for weatherization as part of his emergency energy plan for this winter.

This week, trustees of a new state fund for fighting global warming issued a call for home weatherization bids from aid agencies. It plans to allocate as much as $750,000 to the effort as its first use of carbon cap-and-trade revenue.