The continued volatility of natural gas and heating oil prices, a harsher winter and high unemployment in many states, along with the delayed release of 2004 LIHEAP funds has resulted in some states allocating additional funds for their energy assistance programs. Some examples follow.

In mid-December Colorado Governor Bill Owens provided $10 million to the state’s LIHEAP office to help low-income Colorado families pay their heating bills.

The action came as the state’s newspapers reported skyrocketing natural gas prices – increases of 73 percent over last year, continuing job losses, and a record number of people behind on their energy bills.

The state money is a portion of the economic-stimulus money that Colorado and other states have received from the federal government under the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act.

Responding to an 80 percent increase in the number of families who need help paying their energy bills, Energy Outreach Colorado, a statewide fuel fund (formerly Colorado Energy Assistance Foundation) reported on January 12 that it would tap its reserve funds to release an extra $276,125 to charity agencies across the state.

During October, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) disbursed $13 million for energy assistance and $7.5 million for energy efficiency projects. The agency took less than a month to evaluate proposals for energy assistance grants, citing the need to expedite grant approval in the face of higher natural gas prices. 

The majority of the funding, $7.5 million, went to the state LIHEAP office, the Family Independence Agency (FIA), for its State Emergency Relief Fund; $2 million went to the Salvation Army to serve households ineligible for assistance from FIA or for whom such assistance is insufficient or not available, and $3 million went to The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW), a fuel fund.

Earlier in the month, the MPSC approved almost $6.8 million in low-income energy efficiency grants to eight organizations around the state.

The organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, the Michigan Community Action Association, and several community-based organizations, will provide a range of services such as energy efficiency upgrades, weatherization, home audits and inspections, and energy efficiency education.

The grants are part of the Low-Income and Energy Efficiency Fund established as part of Michigan's Customer Choice and Electricity Reliability Act of 2000 (Public Act 141).

Also, the MPSC approved a proposal by Detroit Edison to provide eligible low-income customers with a one cent per kilowatt hour reduction in current electric rates – a discount of approximately $6 a month for a typical customer. The program is expected to extend through the current heating season.

Citing the approach of cold weather and higher natural gas bills, the Georgia Public Service Commission on December 24 approved the disbursement of $6 million to the Department of Human Resources, the state’s LIHEAP grantee, to provide grants to help low-income senior citizens and other low-income citizens pay their gas heat bills.

Half of the disbursement was targeted for low-income seniors (age 65 and older) while the remainder was set aside for non-senior low-income consumers. The source of the funding is the Universal Service Fund (USF), a trust fund administered by the Commission to be used primarily to provide assistance to low-income citizens in paying their natural gas heating bills.

This was the second allotment the Commission provided during 2003; in February, also citing high gas prices, it released $5 million to the LIHEAP office. (See LIHEAP Networker #48 for more details.)

Federal money also helped Montana’s LIHEAP on two occasions late last year. In late November, it received $2 million, a portion of money the state received through the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act.

Of the $2 million, $1.5 million was to be used to help pay low-income households’ winter heating bills, and $500,000 will be used to help weatherize more homes. Additionally, in October, the LIHEAP office received $500,000 as part of a reward to the state for good performance in welfare programs, particularly TANF. That bonus was part of a $3.9 million reward.

Also in October, Montana’s universal system fund, set up by deregulation legislation, contributed $1.7 million to state low-income energy assistance programs, including LIHEAP. (See story in the LIHEAP Networker # 48).

On December 17, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved additional funding for gas company low-income energy programs, along with changes to the gas Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP). The Commission approved agreements executed by Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy (OPAE) and other intervenor groups with the Dominion East Ohio, Vectren and Columbia Gas companies as part of a bad debt tracker proceeding.

New funding will be added as follows: Dominion’s weatherization program, Housewarming, will receive an additional $500,000 in funding for the next five years; Columbia Gas’s WarmChoice weatherization program will receive an additional $500,000 for the next five years, and Vectren will initiate a new weatherization program in the Dayton area funded at $175,000 per year over the next five years. Additionally, Dominion and Columbia will each contribute $175,000 to fuel funds in their respective service territories. Cleveland Housing Network will operate the Dominion program.

All three companies will implement a new arrearage-crediting program for PIPP customers. Under the program, customers making 12 annual payments on time will see one third of their arrearages eliminated. Continuing to make payments for a second 12 months eliminates half of the remaining arrears. Making full, on-time payments for a third 12 months eliminates all PIPP arrearages. At that point, households that continue to make timely payments will have their arrearages zeroed out annually. Households that fail to make a payment start the program over but retain the arrearage forgiveness earned to date.

On December 12, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich announced the state would provide the LIHEAP with an additional $2 million in heating assistance funds. State officials said unexpected increases in heating bills could occur due to the volatility of natural gas prices and the uncertainty of Illinois winters. The additional funds came from the state’s Supplemental Low Income Energy Assistance Fund, which results from a surcharge on all gas and electric customers.

Indiana

On January 20, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) announced funding of $656,000 to HEAT Aid, a program to help customers with arrearages and deposits for reconnection.

LIHEAP-eligible customers, at 125 percent or less of federal poverty guidelines, can receive a maximum of $300 toward their deposit if their NIPSCO gas service currently is disconnected.

Customers with an annual income of 126 percent to 250 percent of federal poverty guidelines are eligible for a maximum of $300 toward their outstanding NIPSCO gas bill. Applicants must have received a delinquent bill notice since November 1, or must be attempting to restore service after disconnection.

All participants must pay a $100 matching contribution to receive NIPSCO aid.

Rhode Island

On November 19, Governor Donald Carcieri held a press conference to announce the creation and funding of a special utility restoration fund. The fund will provide assistance to Rhode Islanders whose gas or electricity have been disconnected and are eligible for LIHEAP, but who owe more in bills and fees for service restoration than LIHEAP can provide.

The Governor said he would use approximately $35,000 from his contingency fund to help an estimated 97 Rhode Island families pay enough of their arrears to have their utility service restored. Another 131 families were expected to receive sufficient federal heating subsidies to have their service restored automatically. As a result, 228 families will have their service restored.

The program was initiated through the efforts of the grassroots group ACORN, whose members have been working to win a utility assistance program in the state for the last three years and see the governor’s action as a first step toward a larger energy affordability program.

A community action agency in Arkansas is using LIHEAP Assurance 16 and CSBG funds to develop short- and long-term approaches to moving clients toward self-sufficiency.

Crowley's Ridge Development Council (CRDC) has implemented two programs; the first, developed in 1999, is the short-term assurance 16 (A16) program, accompanied by the long-term self-sufficiency program, Family Enrichment. Clients can participate in either or both programs at the same time, depending on their needs.

Through such features as client incentives, a Family Profile Matrix (used to track a client's progress in both programs,) and by using the same caseworker and records for clients in both programs, the programs have had high completion rates, according to family services manager, Wendy Alexander.

CRDC offers multiple services to low-income clients in eight counties in northeast Arkansas. Each county's Family Service Center serves as a one-stop shop for client assistance. Clients are asked to complete a Needs and Concern Assessment that details the family’s needs such as transportation, medical, food, bill assistance or other concerns. This information serves as a launching point for recommended services, programs and external referrals.

If clients come in for utility bill assistance and LIHEAP assistance does not solve the utility crisis, they are referred to the A16 program. If a customer meets all requirements and has not participated within the past two years they are eligible to enter the program. The Family Enrichment program enrolls clients that have multiple needs and recurring crises. Target groups for both programs include single parent households and households with senior and disabled members.

After a client enters either program, the Family Profile Matrix is used: first to assess the family's status in ten areas: employment, job retention, economic self-sufficiency, education, housing, transportation, childcare, health, nutrition and utility consumption, and, second, to track the family's progress toward attaining goals.

The first goal in the A16 program is to identify problem areas and set a monthly budget. After completing that goal, the client receives an incentive to remain in the program, such as a box fan or an electric blanket.

Further goals include practicing energy conservation in the home, maintaining a budget, and attending all group and individual energy education sessions. After completing all goals, the household can receive a $300 credit towards a utility account. A $500 bill credit is available to select households with a senior or disabled member and/or an extremely high monthly gas bill. A household can receive an energy efficient appliance such as a refrigerator or air conditioner or energy efficiency measures such as roofing or attic insulation instead of a bill credit. Or, participants may mix and match bill credits, appliances and efficiency measures, up to a $500 value.

CRDC's A16 program lasts about three-to-five months and served 150 households in 2003 with a completion rate of 70 percent. According to Alexander, most clients complete the program because of the incentives. She added that "putting funds into incentives has made a big difference."

Clients enrolled in the Family Enrichment program are often referred through the A16 program or from other local social service agencies. Family Enrichment participants must be willing to make the commitment to long-term and holistic change and must truly want to become more self-sufficient, says Alexander.

After a caseworker identifies the needs of the entire household, it is enrolled in intensive case management and an individualized program is designed to accomplish long-term goals. Long-term goals are those that will help a family become more self-sufficient and are different for every family, Alexander noted. The most common long-term goals are purchase of a home, increasing education or job skills, obtaining and retaining a job for at least a year, and increasing income. For households with disabled or senior members, self-sufficiency goals often focus on obtaining affordable housing, maintaining a continuous flow of income, or managing health-related expenses.

The Family Profile Matrix tracks the household over the entire history of the case with a baseline measurement taken at the onset of case activity. Every six months the caseworker evaluates and graphs the family's progress. Even after a family attains its goals, it is tracked for six to nine months or sometimes longer to make certain the family remains stable.

Participation in the Family Enrichment program is very selective and has a small dropout rate. Each county office enrolls 20 to 25 households for a total of 160 to 200 participants out of 20,000 agency clients in the eight counties.

While Alexander says the programs are expensive, she also pointed out that local businesses benefit from incentive equipment purchases and local workers are hired for repairs and installation of home energy equipment. Local utility companies benefit from a stronger relationship with A16 customers who have current accounts and have better control over energy usage. And, she added, when community members attain self-sufficiency, the burden on the LIHEAP is reduced.

For more information contact Wendy Alexander at (870) 935-8610 or wendy@crdcnea.com.

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