LIHEAPnetworker
LIHEAP Clearinghouse
National Center for Appropriate Technology |
| Number 46 |
May 2003 |
| Tribes Have
Long, Tough Winter, But Manage to Cope Tribes throughout the country
experienced an unusually tough winter, made tougher by higher fuel prices, high
unemployment, and LIHEAP funds that ran out all too quickly.
Tribal LIHEAP offices interviewed recently by the LIHEAP Clearinghouse explained how
they got through the winter. Some were lucky enough to get supplemental funding from their
tribal governments; others found unique sources of supplemental funding.
As of early April, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota had served nearly 2,000
households, had exhausted its LIHEAP allotment and $200,000 in tribal funds, and was
looking for another $100,000 from the tribal government to extend the program until May or
June, according to LIHEAP director Eileen Shot.
While the weather has been especially bad, with lots of snow, the tribe is fortunate,
Shot said, to have worked with propane dealers and locked in lower prices in September, so
it is now paying $.81 per gallon, rather than the market price of $1.33. About half of the
households heat with propane and half with electricity. A contributing factor to the
reservation’s economy has been the continuing drought; one result of it was the
banning of fireworks last summer. Because fireworks are a source of income, many people
suffered income losses.
According to Charlene Grunstad of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, LIHEAP funds ran out,
but the program didn’t shut down. "Our tribal leaders really worked for
us," Grunstad said. As a result of their efforts, the program received donations of
food and fuel, home repairs, and generators. Additionally, the tribe used Community
Services Block Grant funds for energy assistance.
Montana’s Salish Kootenai Tribe was helped this year through increased
coordination with its tribal housing authority, which provides both emergency fuel
assistance and emergency weatherization, generally furnace repair. And, for the past
several years, the tribe has received additional firewood for LIHEAP recipients through
reclamation of lands burned during the 2000 forest fires. The tribal forestry department
removed trees that weren’t badly burned, cut them up, and delivered them to LIHEAP
recipients, said LIHEAP director Teresa Wall-McDonald.
Shirley Brown of Michigan’s Sault St. Marie Tribe said the winter was extremely
cold, with about two months when the temperature never went much above zero. Additionally,
propane prices shot up by about 71 percent, resulting in an increased number of households
in crisis, which depleted LIHEAP funds by early April. As a result, Brown said, the tribe
is educating members about "early fill" programs, which fill propane tanks
before winter when the prices are low, as well as about budget billing, which keeps bills
level throughout the year. An added benefit of budget billing, she said, is that
participants are then on an "auto-fill" plan with the fuel vendors, who come
around regularly to check fuel levels.
Another tribe that is looking at early fill programs is the Port Gamble Tribe of
Washington. Propane prices were as high as $2.10 per gallon this winter, said LIHEAP
director Kathy Purser-Sullivan. Most households heat with wood or propane, while some use
electric. This year the tribe discovered that some newborn babies were having asthma-type
reactions to wood smoke, so some families had to switch to electricity, causing more
hardships, she said.
Monica James, of the Gila River Indian Community of Arizona, said electric rates had
nearly tripled (they are now coming down), and her program received a record number of
applications – 500 – due also to high unemployment.
For the Lummi Nation of Washington, funding is always a challenge, said Adrianne
Hunter. With 70 – 80 percent unemployment and most households heating with
electricity, there is always more need than available funds. Their funds were exhausted in
January and some people were turned away.
Severe ice storms plagued several tribes in Oklahoma. That caused many members of the
Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribe to turn to wood because other fuel costs had drastically increased,
said Lee Shantz, director. It also resulted in the program running of money early and
turning 40 to 50 people away. The tribe had to hire an additional person to handle an
influx of applicants, she added. The tribe has an Emergency Assistance Program, which is
funded by tribal gaming funds from a casino.
The Lumbee Nation of North Carolina got through the winter with sufficient funds to set
aside for crisis assistance and a summer cooling program that provides window air
conditioners to clients with breathing problems. However, director June Jacobs said North
Carolina's economy is depressed, industries have closed, and unemployment benefits are
exhausted. She said she expects the summer to be tough, especially if it’s hot like
last summer and more industries close down.
The Cheyenne River Sioux of South Dakota had several long spells of very cold weather;
as a result many people used electric heaters along with their propane or wood. Propane
costs went up from 80 cents in the fall to $1.29 in January, according to director Pauline
Eagle Chasing.
She said the tribe wasn’t able to serve everyone who applied, even with emergency
contingency funds, largely because of federal budget delays – a number of local
federal employees were laid off for awhile, causing backlogs. Eventually, her program
received help from other federal programs, one of which provided electric heaters. She
also said more people are returning to the reservation from the cities, adding to demand.
Linda Walker of Washington’s Yakama Tribe said the cold weather started in October
and continued into April. Those with electricity as their sole source of heat used about
one third more electricity this year, she said. The program technically operates all year,
but Walker said she’s happy if funds last through March, which they did this year,
and she was able to serve all who applied.
Return to Contents |
Inside This Issue:
June 8-9: National Fuel Funds Network, 19th
Annual Conference, Hyatt Regency, Sacramento, California.
June 8-9: National Energy
Assistance Directors’Association Annual Meeting, Hyatt Regency, Sacramento,
California.
June 9-12: National Low Income Energy Consortium, 17th
Annual Conference, Hyatt Regency, Sacramento, California. .
August 26-29: The
2003 Community Action Partnership Annual Convention will be held at the Hilton
Anaheim in Anaheim, California.
October 27-29: National Community
Action Foundation 2003 Energy Leveraging Conference, Don Cesar Hotel, St. Pete Beach,
Florida.
|
Arkansas Legislation Provides
Funds for Low-Income Weatherization
Arkansas now has a Weatherization Assistance Fund and Alternative Fuel Fund,
established by legislation passed in February. Act 120 gives electric and natural gas
utilities the option to contribute to the funds and assess a rate charge up to $1.00 per
month to residential customers.
Seventy percent of the funds will supplement the federal low-income Weatherization
Assistance Program (WAP). The Alternative Fuels Fund will receive 30 percent of the funds
for alternative energy grants and research.
In addition to added funding for weatherization measures, the legislation raises the
ceiling for household income eligibility criteria for assistance from the current 125
percent poverty level to 200 percent and provides for more consumer education.
Entergy was involved early on in promoting the bill in the legislature and has already
agreed to participate. For Entergy, a multi-state electric utility system, this was a
natural extension of its low-income initiative that was launched in 1999, according to
Wally Nixon, director of low-income programs, who explained that weatherization is the
bread and butter of low-income programs. Supporting the weatherization fund helps the
company meet the goals of that initiative in Arkansas. Nixon expressed optimism that other
gas and electric utilities will eventually decide to participate in the program, thus
increasing the size of the Fund and expanding its reach to all of Arkansas.
In 2002, Entergy Arkansas formed a partnership with the newly created Coalition for
Energy Efficiency, a broad-based group comprised of nonprofits and an inter-faith council,
to promote the legislation. "It was a good partnership," said Rose Adams,
executive director of the Arkansas Community Action Agencies Association (ACAAA). The CAAs
provided background information to the legislature that included client stories, needs and
the benefits of weatherization programs, and Entergy was instrumental in the lobbying
effort.
The coalition provided support for legislative efforts by endorsing the concept of
energy efficiency as a way to achieve greater energy affordability. It used varied
resources to make its case to the legislature, including statistics on need, poverty and
the number of homes that potentially meet federal eligibility guidelines for
weatherization. For example, at current income guidelines, 178,000 homes potentially
qualify for WAP in Arkansas, but only an average of 1,300 receive it yearly, due to
limited federal funding. This statistic, along with national statistics on
weatherization's return on investment, made a big impression on legislators. Locally, the
return on investment includes job creation, stimulating the economy through the sale of
weatherization supplies, and benefits from increased health and safety.
One coalition tactic was to partner with local officials in demonstrating various
weatherization techniques and increasing awareness of National Weatherization Day in
October. The demonstrations, public involvement, outreach to potential bill sponsors, and
media coverage continued through January, when the legislature convened.
As it turned out, the bill moved quickly. Legislators lined up to sponsor the popular
bill, and it was readily endorsed. Adams said that the benefits of weatherization were
hard to argue against – it sells itself.
The law will take effect 90 days after the legislature adjourns, and it will take a
couple of months for Entergy to modify its computerized billing system to accommodate
collection of the charges and for the agencies to ramp up to expand their capacity to
carry out the additional workload. The program could begin operation as early as November
2003.
Entergy serves about 547,860 residential customers in Arkansas and expects to raise
between $6.7 and $7 million annually for the funds, with 70 percent of that ($4.7 - $4.9
million) going to the weatherization fund. This funding is twice as much as the current
DOE WAP funding for Arkansas and could double the number of homes that will receive
weatherization measures.
The Weatherization Assistance Fund will piggyback onto existing DOE weatherization
programs and provide additional consumer education. The piggyback funding will allow more
low-income homes to be weatherized and more weatherization measures to be implemented and
will allow repairs to homes that will qualify them for federal weatherization assistance.
According to Adams, four things were critical in making the coalition's effort a
success: the partnership with Entergy; creation of a broad base of support around the
state to design the program and work with the legislature; a very concerted effort to
promote WAP and its benefits well in advance of the legislative session; and the positive
perception of the community action agencies (weatherization providers) by legislators.
Adams noted that the Coalition for Energy Efficiency expects to continue and considers
this a first step towards "making Arkansas a better home for all," the
program’s suggested tagline. In addition to supporting the Arkansas legislation,
Entergy continues to support and pursue permanent funding for similar weatherization and
energy assistance in its other jurisdictions: Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and in the
City of New Orleans, Nixon said.
Act 120, can be viewed at: http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2003/R/Acts/Act120.pdf
Return to Contents
Montana LIHEAP Reduces Heating Burdens
With Help of New Central Database System
It has long been the goal of Montana's LIHEAP to reduce the heating burden of
participating households to the state average - between 4 and 5 percent of annual
household income – and, thanks to the capabilities of its new information system, the
state is able to determine whether it has achieved that goal.
For nearly a decade Montana has issued LIHEAP benefits based on a payment matrix that
is adjusted annually to fit the state's LIHEAP grant, and to account for differences in
household income, fuel cost, fuel efficiency, dwelling type, dwelling size, and local
climate.
"Until now, we've been unable to verify whether the payment matrix has achieved
the intended outcome of reducing heating cost burdens to the state average,"
explained Kane Quenemoen, LIHEAP Human Services Manager.
This year, with the help of a Central Database System (CDS), the state hired an
information technology firm to develop a report that allows it to examine and document the
impact of LIHEAP heating assistance benefits based on actual household heating burdens.
The report can be run anytime of the year and can also provide heating burden data by
regions of the state.
The results so far this year, according to state LIHEAP director Jim Nolan, are nothing
short of remarkable. "It's been our primary goal and we now have the stats to back it
up," he said.
The average heating burden has been reduced by 52.5 percent, and among some of the
lowest income households, it was reduced as much as 82 percent. (See chart below). Prior
to receiving LIHEAP, some households - those with the lowest - incomes had burdens
as high as 27 percent.
Heating cost data from LIHEAP households or their utilities is the key piece of data
for the burden reports. The state acquires 12 month heating costs either directly at the
time a client applies for LIHEAP, or, for households served by one of the state's major
utilities, via electronic interface. Pre-LIHEAP heating burdens are calculated by dividing
aggregate 12-month heating costs for LIHEAP households by aggregate annual income.
Post-LIHEAP heating burdens are calculated by subtracting aggregate heating assistance
benefits from aggregate 12-month heating costs and dividing the difference by aggregate
annual income.
The state's ability to do the reports stems from its activities as part of the
Community Services Block Grant outcome-based management efforts, also known as ROMA (or
Results Oriented Management Accountability). Two years ago the state integrated its LIHEAP
eligibility/payment system with the CDS, a client tracking system that had been developed
as part of ROMA. This enhanced the state's report building capacity and also streamlined
data entry and reporting activities for the community action agencies who administer
LIHEAP and weatherization.
Another report available from the new system provides weatherization workers lists of
eligible households prioritized for weatherization by relative heating burden. This allows
the state to target high-burden households for weatherization, Quenemoen said. In the
coming year, he added, the state will work toward integrating its weatherization energy
audit with the CDS database and use energy consumption data to evaluate energy savings
associated with conservation measures.
For more information, contact Jim Nolan at nolan@state.mt.us
or Kane Quenemoen, kquenemoen@state.mt.us.
Return to Contents
Connecticut Loses State Funds That
Supplement LIHEAP
Connecticut, long one of the few states to receive an annual state appropriation to
supplement its LIHEAP, no longer has that distinction.
After receiving as much as $9 million annually – $2 million in recent years –
this year Connecticut’s LIHEAP is doing without state funds. For at least a decade,
the state had used a portion of the funds to supplement its regular LIHEAP (Connecticut
Energy Assistance Program or CEAP), as well as for a separate program called State
Appropriated Fuel Assistance (SAFA).
The SAFA program provided energy assistance to households with an elderly (60 plus) or
disabled family member with household income between 150 percent and 200 percent of
federal poverty guidelines (FPG). Connecticut’s LIHEAP eligibility limit has
historically been at 150 percent of FPG.
The state government, in setting the PY 2003 budget last summer, decided the federal
LIHEAP allocation should be used to serve households who had received benefits through
SAFA. The CEAP began doing so when it opened its program last fall.
This year, despite colder weather and higher fuel prices, the program has been able to
withstand the state funding loss, said LIHEAP director Carlene Taylor. The state received
$8.7 million more in LIHEAP funds than it did last year, including $6.9 million in
emergency funds. She said applications are running about 5 percent higher than last year.
The program closes April 30.
Upon receipt of the emergency funds in January, the state re-opened its Contingency
Heating Assistance Program (CHAP), which serves households with incomes from 150 percent
FPG to 60 percent of state median income. The state established CHAP two years ago in
order to serve higher income households with additional LIHEAP emergency contingency
funding it had received. CHAP did not operate at the start of this season due to
uncertainty over federal funding.
Shirley Bergert of Connecticut Legal Services deplored the state funding cuts. Noting
that Connecticut has steadily decreased state funding during the 1990’s, she said,
"This ensures available benefits continue to be inadequate to meet critical need,
reducing the affordability of essential services."
Return to Contents
Michigan’s Harsh Winter and Poor
Economy
Prompt Release of Supplemental Energy Assistance
A very cold winter, higher energy prices, a poor economy, major cutbacks in the
state’s budget and workforce, the elimination of the Michigan Family Independence
Agency’s positive billing program, and an increase in utility service shutoffs
convinced the Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) to award $20 million of the
state’s low-income energy efficiency fund (LIEE) for supplemental energy assistance
in February.
Three of the five Great Lakes froze during the winter of 2002-03, a winter so cold that
the amount of federal emergency energy assistance grants for low-income households doubled
– from $178 in 2002 to $356 in 2003 – according to Kathy Walgren, executive
director of The Heat and Warmth Program (THAW). THAW, a charitable fuel fund that serves
much of Michigan, had received energy assistance requests from more than 10,000 households
by the end of February.
The Family Independence Agency (FIA), the state’s LIHEAP grantee, lost, 2,700 of
its 32,000 workforce in the fall of 2002 to an early retirement program initiated to help
resolve Michigan’s budget woes. The agency then hired 1,000 new employees, but
"a lot of the people with expertise are gone," according to Sharon Parks of the
Michigan League for Human Services.
To complicate matters, Michigan’s largest electric utility, Detroit Edison,
decided to end its partnership in the FIA’s positive billing program. The positive
billing program involved "vendoring" (using) a portion of the cash assistance
received by low-income families – from TANF and other block grant programs – for
energy bill payments. Included in the positive billing program was automatic shut-off
protection for participants until their arrearages reached a certain level, which varied
by utility.
When the positive billing program ended in October 2002, many former participants found
themselves vulnerable to immediate disconnection because of unpaid arrearages. Although
Michigan has a Winter Protection Plan that prevents utility disconnection of people 65 and
older, and of households receiving FIA cash assistance, food stamps or Medicaid, and/or
with incomes 150 percent or less of FPG, protection does not begin until December 31.
That combination of factors meant that many low-income households experienced or were
facing utility shut-offs. On February 5, the PSC issued a request for proposals, for
grants to provide supplemental energy assistance, to total $20 million. The Commission
also required all proposals to be received by February 19. Normally, the request for grant
proposals would not take place until the fall of this year. Noting the pressing need for
energy assistance in the state, the Commission announced that it would award the grants by
the end of February.
The Commission received proposals from six organizations, with requests totaling more
than $34 million. In awarding the grants, the Commission gave preference to organizations
with a proven record in distributing energy assistance to low-income residents, an
existing administrative structure to handle additional distribution activities, an ability
to coordinate the assistance with other service providers, and a plan to serve multiple
counties or populations with at least 500,000 people.
The order approved the following grants: Family Independence Agency (FIA) – $17
million to expand the State Emergency Relief Fund; Salvation Army – $1 million to
serve households statewide that are ineligible for assistance from FIA or for whom such
assistance is insufficient or not available; Michigan Community Action Agency Association
– $1 million in a direct grant for low-income energy assistance; and THAW – $1
million for the THAW Fund.
Michigan’s 2000
restructuring legislation created the LIEE fund which is designed to provide energy
payment assistance and fund energy efficiency programs. Visit http://www.ncat.org/liheap/dereg/states/michigan.htm
for more information on Michigan's restructuring legislation and four previous Commission
orders approving grants from the LIEE fund.
Return to Contents
Georgia PSC Releases $5 Million in Response
to Cold Winter and High Prices
After natural gas prices rose steeply during the unusually cold winter of 2002-03, the
Georgia Public Service Commission released $5 million in February from the state’s
Universal Service Fund for energy assistance to low-income consumers.
The average residential natural gas bill is running as much as $60 a month higher than
it was last year. Number 1 natural gas marketer Georgia Natural Gas raised its rates 18
percent, number 2 marketer Scana Energy raised its prices 33 percent, and number 3
supplier Southern Company Gas’ prices rose 19 percent. Shell Energy, the number 4
supplier, raised its rates 43 percent.
The rate increases also hit the 17,000-plus low-income customers purchasing
lower-priced gas from Scana Energy through a regulated provider program created by the
PSC. Those rates rose 43 percent. (For a description of Georgia’s regulated provider
program, see the Georgia
deregulation section on the LIHEAP Clearinghouse website.)
The PSC disbursed the $5 million to the Department of Human Resources, the LIHEAP
grantee, to help natural gas customers who are either low-income or low-income seniors.
Specifically, $3 million is aimed at low-income seniors; $2 million will help non-senior
low-income customers. Those who have already qualified for LIHEAP do not need to sign up
for the aid because the money will be automatically applied to their bills.
Because the Universal Service Fund monies come from surcharges on natural gas,
customers of electric utilities cannot receive assistance through the grant.
Return to Contents
New Jersey Approves Statewide
Low-income Assistance Program
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ (BPU) on March 20 approved establishment
of a statewide Universal
Service Fund (USF) to assist low-income customers who heat their homes with
electricity and gas.
The USF will fund a fixed credit percentage of income payment plan under which
participants will be required to pay no more than six percent of their annual income
toward electric and gas bills. First-year funding is estimated to be $30 million, plus 10
percent for administrative costs and for start up costs, which are yet to be determined.
The program design was at least three years in the making, with input from various
stakeholders including the state Ratepayer Advocate, New Jersey AARP, Citizen Action, and
the Department of Human Services, (DHS) the LIHEAP grantee, which will likely administer
the new program. Funding will come from a societal benefits charge, paid by most
electricity and natural gas customers, which was established under the state’s
restructuring law and also funds a variety of energy efficiency programs.
Eligibility will be based on 175 percent of FPG, with automatic screening for
eligibility from means-tested financial assistance programs such as LIHEAP and Lifeline, a
state-funded rate assistance program for the low-income elderly and disabled.
Participants will be required to pay no more than six percent of their annual income
towards electric and gas bills (three percent for electric and three percent for gas or
six percent for all-electric heat customers). Credit to customers will be capped at
$1,800. Screening for automatic enrollment for the USF under DHS is expected to be in
place by July 2003.
As of press time, the BPU had only announced the program via a press release, but had
not issued its order on program implementation. The press release did not address these
key recommendations of stakeholders: that the program include some type of arrearage
reduction for participants, and, as a long-term goal, provide a "one stop shop"
operation wherein the applicant would complete one comprehensive application, which would
screens the applicant’s eligibility for various assistance programs. It also did not
spell out whether enrollment could be done manually before the automatic enrollment
feature is in place.
For more information, visit the BPU website.
Return to Contents
New York Pilot Promotes Aggregation,
Budget Billing and Energy Efficiency
A pilot program in New York is allowing low- and moderate-income households to buy
lower-priced heating fuels on a budget plan and receive matching funds for a
savings program to buy energy-efficient appliances.
Initiated in the fall of 2002 by Tompkins Community Action (TCA) in Ithaca, the
PowerSavers program is designed for households at or below 80 percent of the state’s
median income. It is funded by the state’s system benefit charge on electric
utilities through NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency.
The PowerSavers program has three components:
- Aggregation of low- and moderate-income households in a fuel-buying program.
The TCA
negotiated a three-fold agreement with a local fuel oil vendor for PowerSavers
participants. The vendor agreed to a low "first fill" or introductory price for
fuel oil and kerosene, along with prices set at a certain margin above local
"rack" or wholesale prices. The agreement also included a price cap for the
higher winter rates, although the cap had to be renegotiated.
- A long-term fuel-payment arrangement
. Instead of paying the total cost of a fuel
fill during the highest priced time of year – the route traditionally taken by many
low- and moderate-income families – PowerSavers households are making monthly
payments over a seven- to ten-month period that began in the fall. (The program begins
again this summer, so the new budget billing period will be 10 to 12 months.)
- A savings program for EnergyStar appliances
. At the same time PowerSavers
participants began payments on their budget plan, they established an Individual
Development Account (IDA), in which they deposit between $5 and $15 monthly. NYSERDA
matches each participant’s monthly contribution two-for-one. In addition, it makes a
$25 bonus deposit for each monthly fuel bill paid on time, in order to help people build a
good credit history. At the end of the heating season, participants can redeem the money
in their IDAs to purchase an EnergyStar appliance or home energy-efficiency improvement.
Program participants must also enroll in classes designed to help improve their
financial management skills. According to Art Godin, the PowerSavers program coordinator,
the pilot program enrolled 45 households for 2002-03. He says Tompkins Community Action is
contacting additional fuel vendors for possible participation in the fuel-buying program
next winter. With more participating vendors, and more exposure through the LIHEAP
program, Godin explained, PowerSavers would allow LIHEAP recipients to get better fuel
prices and stay with their current vendors.
A description of PowerSavers and other Tompkins CAA programs can be found at http://www.tcaction.org/
Return to Contents
NLIEC / NFFN / NEADA June 8-12
The leading national conference on low-income energy issues kicks off June 8 at the
Hyatt Regency in Sacramento, California. This year’s theme is "Prospecting for
Solutions and Golden Opportunities."
The joint national conferences of the National Low Income Energy Consortium (NLIEC),
the National Fuel Funds Network (NFFN) and the National Energy Assistance Directors’
Association (NEADA) begin with NFFN’s annual conference on Sunday and Monday June 8-9
NEADA's annual meeting starts Sunday and runs through Monday. The NLIEC spans
two-and-a-half days.
Sarah Reyes, California State Assemblymember, will deliver the opening keynote address.
Commissioner Carl Wood, California Public Utilities Commission, will provide the keynote
luncheon address on Tuesday June 10.
Another highlight of the NLIEC will be "Tracking the Trail of Poverty," a
90-minute "town hall" style meeting featuring David Bradley, National Community
Action Foundation; Chester Hartman, Poverty and Race Research and Action Council; and Jean
Ross, California Budget Project. The session will examine who are the nation’s poor,
what life is like for working poor families, how things have changed since the War on
Poverty began, and the impact welfare reform has had on low-income households. Panelists
will also discuss what the future holds for low-income Americans and those who work on
their behalf.
Off-site events include a tour of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s
energy efficiency house, a tour of local residential conservation projects and a
statehouse tour.
For more conference information, visit the NLIEC
website or the NFFN website.