Utility assistance program helps residents afford heating costs

    In the last year, Washington County HACAP has provided almost 600 families with assistance on their heating bills. The families receive the funds through a federal initiative known as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LiHEAP), which is administered by the state. Washington County HACAP distributed approximately $350,000 to those families. The average household received about $560 from the program.

    Lorna Golson, the LiHEAP program manager at HACAP?s corporate office in Hiawatha, said the program served about 8,200 households in HACAP?s six-county coverage area. She said nearly $4.7 million was spent helping people pay their utility bills, and the average participant received $555.

    Golson explained that the funds are not intended to pay for a household?s entire heating bill over the winter, but that the funds go a long way toward helping those households stay afloat. One aspect of the program is to pay for furnace replacements and repairs. Last year, Washington County residents received 10 furnace replacements and 16 furnace repairs. Golson said it is unlikely there will be as much money for furnaces as there was in the past. She said she hopes to find out next week how much money the federal government will allocate for the program this year. 

 Susan Tweedy, who assists with the LiHEAP program in Washington County, said there are many misconceptions among the general public about who can qualify for energy assistance. She said she heard many of these misconceptions at the Senior Fest health fair earlier this month. 

    ?I heard a lot of them say they couldn?t apply for the program because they have savings,? said Tweedy. ?Some would say they couldn?t apply because they don?t have a disconnect notice. Others said they couldn?t because their bill was really small this month. A lot of times your bill is really small in September because we?re in between seasons, so they won?t apply for it.?

    To receive LiHEAP assistance, a person must fill out a form at the HACAP office and meet the requisite number of ?points.? Points are assigned based on income, number of children, disability and other factors. Having savings of less than $15,000 counts as one of the other factors. However, even if a person has more than $15,000 in savings, he or she can still qualify for the program based on other criteria.

    It is not necessary to receive a disconnect notice in order to apply for heating assistance, nor is it necessary to have a large heating bill.

For more, see our Oct. 28 print edition.