States Have Some Success, Some Failures
in Attaining Energy Assistance Resources

Legislative attempts to gain or expand state resources for energy assistance have had some success so far this year, along with a few failures.

Here are the success stories:

Oregon: Legislation passed that increases Oregon's bill-payment assistance program for customers of PGE and Pacific Power from $10 million to $15 million per year, and then indexes the total to growth in commercial load and residential customers—probably in the range of 1-3 percent a year.

The money funds the Oregon Energy Assistance Program (OEAP), which since 2001 has provided electric bill payment assistance, prioritized to those in danger of shut-off. It serves about 22,500 households per year with an average benefit of $321. With the extra $5 million, OEAP may reach another 16,000 people. OEAP is administered through the state LIHEAP office in coordination with that program.

Residential electric customers pay for the program through a meters charge that had been about 33 cents per month and will increase to about 50 cents. Earlier in the session, an attempt to expand the meters charge to consumer-owned utilities and generate more rate assistance funding failed.

Texas: The state partially reinstated a low-income electric bill discount that had been operational from 2002 through 2005. The reinstatement came after the Texas legislature appropriated $30 million for the discount this summer and $170 million for a summer discount for 2008 and 2009.

A discount of at least 12 percent — $25 to $30 a month — went into effect July 1 for low-income residents in Houston, Dallas and other areas of Texas that have retail electric choice.

Customers who received the discounts prior to 2005 will be automatically re-enrolled in the discount, and about 316,000 will initially qualify. Otherwise, households must be at or below 125 percent of federal poverty guidelines or receive Food Stamps or Medicaid.

The money comes from a System Benefit Charge (SBC) on electric bills approved in 1999 as part of restructuring.  From 2002 through August of 2005, the SBC funded a year-round discount; however, the discount ended when the legislature shifted SBC funds to the general fund in order to balance the state budget. At its peak during 2002 and most of  2003, discount spending averaged around $160 million and served as many as 800,000 households annually.

Montana: The state received $3.2 million for the next biennium through separate pieces of legislation. The budget bill allocated $1.6 million to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services, the LIHEAP and weatherization grantee. It plans to use $1 million for energy assistance or weatherization depending on the greatest need; the other $600,000 is for the energy assistance ombudsman program, now in its third year, under which local agencies provide outreach and referral to households up to 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines.

A second piece of legislation allows the LIHEAP office to spend $1.6 million in oil overcharge funds that had been placed in a trust fund during the 1980's and could only be used if LIHEAP and weatherization funding levels fell below 1987 levels. The legislation removed the spending restrictions and the state will spend it on LIHEAP or weatherization as needed.

Connecticut: Included in an energy reform bill was $5 million for energy assistance; however, Governor Jodi Rell eliminated it through a line item veto. The $5 million was later reinstated as part of the budget bill, and it is to be spent by Operation Fuel, the statewide fuel fund.

Michigan: A supplemental appropriations bill included $22 million for low-income energy assistance after the Michigan LIHEAP ran out of crisis funds. 

The funding comes from surcharges on Detroit Edison and Consumers Energy customers that go into the Low Income and Energy Efficiency fund (LIEE). The bill allocated the $22 million to the Department of Human Services (DHS), the LIHEAP grantee.

Normally, LIEE funds are administered by the Michigan Public Service Commission and are awarded to state agencies and nonprofits following a competitive solicitation. Because the Michigan LIHEAP ran out of crisis assistance funds in mid-April, the legislation ordered the funds to go directly to LIHEAP. As a result, DHS reinstated the crisis program in mid-May and expected the money to last at least through July. Its crisis program usually operates year round.

On June 8, the Commission issued a Request for Proposals for the distribution of up to $50 million more in LIEE funds to provide bill payment help.

Maryland: Reacting to soaring electric bills due to the expiration of electric rate caps, Governor Martin O'Malley authorized an additional $5 million for the FY 2008 budget of the Electric Universal Service Program, which helps pay electric bills of low-income households. Previously, the program had $52 million set aside for the year—$36 million from a universal service charge paid by all ratepayers and $16 million in general tax money.

The EUSP also began taking applications in June instead of its normal July 1 starting date.

These states were unsuccessful in getting energy assistance funding:

Vermont: Legislation that would have allowed the creation of a low-income electric-bill assistance program and energy efficiency programs for heating oil and natural gas users passed the legislature. However, it was vetoed by Governor Jim Douglas because he opposed the funding source for the efficiency programs—taxes on a nuclear plant. The Governor has since outlined an alternative fuel efficiency program that he says will meet many goals of the vetoed bill without new taxes.

Massachusetts: Efforts throughout the winter and spring by the Massachusetts Community Action Partnership, advocate groups, state agencies and the state senate failed to garner the $10 million these entities sought for energy assistance. The advocates plan to continue their efforts in the fall.

Rhode Island: Due to budget constraints, the state legislature stripped funding, a total of $15 million, for a low-income energy assistance program that was scheduled to start July 1. Under legislation approved last year, the funding was supposed to come from a gross-receipts tax paid by utility customers, and a tax on heating oil sold to commercial customers. The taxes will still be collected, but the money will go for other state programs. The program would have helped people with disconnects make a down payment in order to participate in an arrearage forgiveness program. The program won't start until at least January of 2009.

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Tribal Leveraging Continues to Increase

Tribal leveraging has been steadily increasing with many tribes reporting substantial increases in 2006. Leveraging is a valuable endeavor for the tribes who, in many cases, receive incentive awards that are larger than their regular LIHEAP allotments.

In Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation reported leveraging over $400,000 compared to almost $60,000 in 2005. The tribal council provided $500,000 for energy assistance in the winter of 2006 in response to increased fuel costs. According to Jerry Snell, LIHEAP Director, the tribe's seniors and households with fixed incomes had a hard time paying their energy bills.

With the extra funds, the tribe was able to provide additional help for heating and was able to operate a cooling program. A portion of the tribal funds, not included in leveraging, was used to purchase pellet stoves.

This summer leveraged funds will again allow the Cherokee Nation to have a cooling program, limited to households with senior or disabled members.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota reported almost $550,000 in 2006, a 40 percent increase over 2005 leveraging.
Tribal funds amounted to $400,000 and the neighboring Chicopee Tribe in Minnesota, which often donates to South Dakota tribes for energy assistance and other worthy causes, gave $150,000. The source of both the Rosebud Sioux and the Chicopee funds is casino revenue.

The Choctaw tribal council in Oklahoma traditionally gives the tribe $100,000 for energy assistance each year. In response to increases in oil and natural gas costs and a severe ice storm in January 2006, the council provided $385,000.

Charlene Grunstad, LIHEAP director, reports that many tribal members live in rural areas, are very low income and are struggling to pay heating and cooling bills. The tribal council meets when LIHEAP funds are close to depletion and decides how much to provide.

The tribe's population, including the elderly, and enterprises are growing. Tribal funds are mostly from casinos, smoke shops and manufacturing ventures.

Washington's Yakama Nation reported a total of $185,940 for 2006—nearly three times its 2005 total.

Tribal funds from a tax on tobacco provided the main source of leveraged funds. The tax funds are designated each year to provide assistance where the need is greatest. According to Linda Walker, LIHEAP program manager, the tribe's LIHEAP received the funds in 2006 because many households were disconnected, and many received increased energy assistance.

The tribe also has a senior wood program that is counted in leveraging. Crews cut wood in the summer and the leveraged amount depends on how much they cut and the value of a cord.

Although most households heat with electricity, some use wood for supplemental heat. Some LIHEAP funds are set aside for purchasing wood stoves for home owners. Households with elderly members or unsafe stoves are targeted.

Leveraging for the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in Montana increased from $16,438 to $63,536, providing more money for bill assistance. Each year the tribe provides about $16,000 for crisis furnace repair.

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Partnerships Focus on Energy Efficiency
for Nonprofits and Low Income

Partnerships can provide resourceful ways for organizations to help low-income households and nonprofits save energy.

Energy Outreach Colorado (EOC) and the city and county of Denver are collaborators in a new project called the Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Program (NEEP) that provides energy audits and energy efficiency measures to qualifying nonprofits in the Denver area.

Six nonprofits have received energy saving measures through NEEP during the first year pilot. Funding of $160,000 came from Xcel Energy Foundation, Denver Foundation, Daniels Fund and Mile High United Way; energy audits were provided by the Governor's Energy Office.

Helping reduce nonprofits' energy costs allows them to use more of their funds to serve clients, according to EOC. For example, Urban Peak, a nonprofit serving homeless youth, received insulation in its attic and walls and reduced its energy usage by 25 percent in just one month.

The Denver NEEP initiative received second year funding from the city and county that will allow additional nonprofits in the area to receive energy efficiency measures. The Excel Energy Foundation and EnCana Oil and Gas are providing funds to expand the project outside of Denver .

EOC was awarded the Victorine Q. Adams award for NEEP at the National Fuel Funds Network conference in June.

EOC also partners with affordable housing providers such as Habitat for Humanity of Colorado (HFHC) to provide energy efficient measures for new homes. HFHC has received Energy Solutions Grants from EOC for the past three years to use for energy efficient construction upgrades for Habitat homes that are certified to Energy Star Standards or higher.

The most recent grant of $145,000 from EOC will allow HFCH to provide energy efficiency upgrades in 50 Habitat homes across the state.

EOC and HFHC have also collaborated to provide regional energy efficiency training and education to 30 statewide HFHC affiliates. Trainers at the affiliate agencies will learn energy efficient designs and concepts to use in home construction.

New owners of Habitat homes are given an energy efficiency manual and video that explains the energy efficient features of their home, how to maintain the heating system, tips on budgeting and even ideas of how to invest in additional energy saving enhancements for their homes such as energy conserving landscape designs.

Contact Shelly Wallace at EOC for a video about the EOC and HFHC collaboration.

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Utility Weatherization Programs
Continue in Idaho and Georgia

A low-income weatherization program funded by Idaho Power and operated by the Action Partnership Association of Idaho will continue for at least another year with annual funding remaining at $1.2 million.
Both the utility and the Association asked state regulators to allow the utility to keep offering weatherization assistance. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission granted permission June 26 after taking public comment on whether the program should continue. As a result of a 2004 rate case, the utility's annual investment in weatherization increased from $200,000 to $1.2 million through 2007.

Since then 1,374 projects have been completed for a total energy saving of 7.5 million kWh with a savings-to-investment ratio per home (including the cost of health and safety measures) of about $2 for every $1 spent.

In early June, the Georgia Public Service Commission approved the third year of the Atlanta Gas Light (AGL) Home and Heartwarming Program, with an annual budget of $1 million plus $542,665 in carry-over funds from previous years. The Commission allocated $800,000 to the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, the weatherization grantee; $392,665 to three housing authorities; $200,000 to Resource Service Ministries, an Atlanta nonprofit, and $150,000 to two other nonprofits.

The program weatherizes and repairs the homes and apartments of low-income customers of AGL. Measures include gas furnace repair or replacement, weather-stripping of doors and windows and installation of programmable thermostats.

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NCLC Receives Conference Award

The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) has been honored as the recipient of the 2007 NLIEC Achievement Award, which is presented annually to an organization or individual that has demonstrated consistent leadership in championing low-income issues.

The award was presented on June 6 during the 21st Annual National Low Income Energy Conference in Nashville, Tennessee .

“The National Consumer Law Center has been one of the champions of low-income and vulnerable Americans, particularly seniors, homeowners, former welfare recipients and the working poor, through targeted consumer rights initiatives. Its knowledge of low-income consumer issues, federal and state consumer protection laws has helped to predict and shape the effect of proposed statutes and policies on low-income consumers,” said NLIEC Chair Cindy Datig, in presenting the award.

Issues upon which NCLC has had a significant impact include the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, LIHEAP, the Home Ownership Equity Protection Act of 1994 and the development of state unfair and deceptive acts and practices legislation.

A top priority for NCLC is providing support on issues involving consumer fraud, debt collection, consumer finance, energy assistance programs, predatory lending and sustainable home ownership programs.

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Solar Collectors Add Warmth to Low-Income Homes

The Colorado Governor's Energy Office (the state weatherization grantee), and local weatherization agencies are teaming up to bring solar heat to low-income homes. Solar collectors have been installed on forty homes around the state in a pilot project that started in March.

Participants are selected from Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) applications and must meet income guidelines of 185 percent of federal poverty guidelines. Both home owners and renters are eligible.

An energy auditor evaluates the applicants' homes for solar exposure. Because the solar collectors only produce heated air during sunlight hours, the project targets applicants that are at home during the day such as the elderly and stay-at-home moms. Homes with high energy usage are also given priority.

Solar collector mounted on a south facing wall.

Before installing solar collectors, selected homes receive building shell measures, safety checks, or appliances on a case-by-case basis. The solar collectors are typically mounted on a south-facing exterior wall but can be located on a roof or even next to the house.

The collector used in this project is the SolarSheat 1500G, a closed system where air drawn from inside the house is heated by the sun in the solar collector and then blown back into the house with the help of a solar-powered fan. A thermostat in the house controls the fan and regulates the temperature inside the home. According to the manufacturer, one 4x8 foot collector can provide enough heat for up to 1,000 square feet.

Because the project started in late March, it is still in the research phase, as there hasn't been enough cold weather to collect data for a cost/benefit analysis. Data collection will include pre- and post-utility costs, air flow metering and heat rise.

Solar collector mounted on a roof.

According to Russ Shaber from the WAP office, the average cost of the collector plus installation is $1,900 and annual savings are expected to range from $150-$200 annually during the 20-year life expectancy of the collectors.

Housing Resources of Western Colorado has installed solar collectors on eight houses over the past four months. The installations were completed just as warmer weather set in, but preliminary data have shown a heat rise of 60-70 degrees in the collector. One of the installations has a data logger that will record the amount of time the home's furnace is running.

Mike Hansen at Housing Resources of Western Colorado says the agency was careful in selecting homes for the collectors and that homes with a household member home during the day were targeted. The solar-heated air should keep one main room warm during the day, while the rest of the rooms in the house will be cooler.

Solar collector angled under an eave.

Initial feedback from clients is positive—one senior homeowner reported using less pellets in his wood stove after the solar collector was installed.

The Arapahoe County Housing and Community Development Department has installed solar collectors on three homes in Aurora and is scheduled to do three more. After the pilot project, the agency hopes to continue installing collectors if the installations can be cost effective; ongoing research will seek ways to bring the cost down, according to Chuck Seghers of the department.

For more details on the SolarSheat 1500G specifications and installation, see YourSolar Home.

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Programs in 13 States Subject of Study

The plenary presentation at the National Low Income Energy Consortium conference was “Ratepayer Funded Low-Income Energy Programs: Performance and Possibilities,” presented by David Carroll and Jackie Berger of APPRISE and Roger Colton of Fisher Sheehan and Colton .

The authors studied ratepayer funded energy assistance and energy efficiency programs in 13 states, ( California, Colorado, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin ). They reviewed 21 affordability and 13 efficiency programs, along with 10 affordability program evaluations and 8 efficiency program evaluations. Variations in program design, benefits, operations and administration were highlighted in the presentation.

The study was funded by national, state, and local organizations; some of these organizations contributed to the study by furnishing information on the low-income affordability and energy efficiency programs in their jurisdictions and helping to identify the key questions for policymakers.

The study will directly benefit the study sponsors by furnishing information on how they can implement new low-income energy programs or make enhancements to existing ones. It also serves the broader low-income energy community by furnishing a publicly available report on the study findings.

Copies of the authors' presentation are available on the NLIEC website and the full report will be presented there later this summer

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Connecticut Electric Energy Efficiency
Programs Evaluated

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Massachusetts Electric Energy Efficiency
Programs Cost Effective

A review of Massachusetts' energy efficiency programs over a three-year period shows that an investment of $48 million improved the energy efficiency of low-income households and that those households will avoid some $140 million in electricity costs over the lifetime of the installed measures. Other customer classes had comparable savings.

Compiled by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Division of Energy Resources (DOER) and released in April, the review is titled “Massachusetts Saving Electricity: A Summary of the Performance of Electric Efficiency Programs Funded by Ratepayers Between 2003 and 2005.”

The state's 1997 Electric Industry Restructuring Act established a System Benefit Charge whereby customers of electric distribution companies pay a small charge (0.25 mills per kWh for low-income programs) to support energy efficiency programs for all customer classes.

The low-income programs are implemented through the existing weatherization and energy assistance network, primarily community action agencies. The utility funds are combined with federal weatherization funds to expand the number of jobs completed and the work performed.

Typical measures include attic and/or wall insulation, blower door directed air sealing, heating system repairs and replacements and ventilation. About 17,000 low-income households received efficiency services through the utility funds during FY 2006; this total also includes customers served through natural gas low-income efficiency programs. Eligible are customers with incomes below 60 percent of the state's median income, which equates to about 225 percent of federal poverty.

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NLIEC, NFFN Select Name for Combined Conference in 2008

The boards of directors of the National Low Income Energy Consortium and National Fuel Funds Network have selected the name for their first combined conference, which will be held on June 16-18, 2008, at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Denver .

In 2008 the two organizations are joining forces to hold a single three-day event called the National Energy and Utility Affordability Conference. In past years, the NFFN conducted its annual conference over a two-day period in early June, and NLIEC then hosted its annual National Low Income Energy Conference on the three following days.

Their combined conference will be partnered with the annual meeting of the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, also to be held at the Adam’s Mark. The three groups' collective events will continue to be known as the Joint Low Income Energy Conferences.

The changes were made in part because many attendees requested a shorter, more streamlined conference with less duplication.

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Audit Finds Deficiencies in Pennsylvania
LIHEAP Administration

Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner said on June 27 that a special performance audit found serious deficiencies in the Department of Public Welfare's (DPW) administration of the state's LIHEAP.

Inadequate policies and procedures, insufficient supervision, and inadequate oversight resulted in potential applicant and employee fraud and abuse in all six counties ( Philadelphia, Allegheny, Lancaster, Lehigh, Perry and York) examined during the audit period of July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2006 .

Wagner made 25 recommendations to DPW for improving LIHEAP. They include:

• Improving LIHEAP's information system immediately to ensure every Social Security number entered into the system is valid.
  
  
• Developing appropriate edit checks to detect irregularities or potential fraud and abuse on applications submitted with similar addresses, names, and Social Security numbers.
  
  
• Requiring county assistance offices and crisis contractors to independently verify Social Security numbers before application approval.
  
  
• Ensuring county personnel who administer the LIHEAP program receive proper training and are adequately supervised.
  
  
• Improving monitoring of the LIHEAP application process.

The DPW responded that the audit exaggerated the problem and overlooked  improvements that have been made in program management. It said that several of the audit's recommendations have already been initiated, including a new information technology system for application processing and enhanced training, while others will be considered and implemented.

According to the department, the audit looked at more than 253,000 applications and found that roughly 2,400, or about one percent, were potentially fraudulent, and the department has ruled out fraud in about half of the 2,400.

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Philadelphia Low-Income
Get Help with Gas Bills

For the second time this year, extra funding is available to help low-income Philadelphians with their natural gas bills. The Philadelphia City Council has allocated $1 million in emergency funding to help delinquent gas customers.

The Utility Emergency Services Fund, a fuel fund, will use the City Council funding to assist more than 2,600 families in preventing shutoffs and paying arrearages. Philadelphia has the highest gas rates in the state; average bills are more than $1,800 per year and are expected to increase in September by 9.3 percent.

About 80,000 low-income households already are receiving discounts from Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), the city-owned gas utility. Of those, about a third are facing shutoffs because of delinquent bills.

In January, a $500,000 emergency grant was made available from the state government and it helped low-income PGW customers whose service had been shut-off.

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Entergy Reports on Low-Income Activities

Entergy Corporation, which provides electricity in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi, has distributed a report, titled 2006 Low-Income Initiative Progress Report, detailing its assistance to low-income customers and communities during 2006.

Entergy customers last year voluntarily contributed more than $1.5 million to the company's bill payment assistance programs; employees contributed $420,000 and shareholders another $700,000 for a total of over $2.4 million.

Among Entergy's other energy-related initiatives in the states: it helped form a statewide collaborative in Arkansas, after which the Public Service Commission issued orders for the implementation of weatherization programs, and the Low-Income Home Energy Forum, led by the Arkansas Community Action Agency Association, was formed to address the need for a statewide fuel fund.

The utility also doubled weatherization projects in all areas except Louisiana: Entergy Mississippi is currently partnering with the Mississippi Housing Initiative in a pilot program of 200 homes targeted for weatherization; Entergy Arkansas provided $75,000 to Central Arkansas Development Council in partnership with all Arkansas community action agencies for home weatherization projects in every county of the state;  in Louisiana, the focus was continuation of a Revolving Loan Fund for which Entergy increased the funding by 30 percent.

The Progress Report says that approximately 25 percent of Entergy's 2.6 million customers fall below the poverty line, and more than $631 million is contributed annually to Entergy's revenue from its low-income and working poor customers.

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