Help available for high winter heating costs

When the temperatures drop during winter in Ohio, residents crank up their furnaces to stay warm.

The heat comes at a cost, but help is available for people who may have trouble paying their utility bills in winter, local workers say.

One key factor is to communicate with utility providers early on, said Columbia Gas spokesman Ray Frank.

“I can’t stress enough the need for readers to contact us at the earli- est signs of difficulties meeting their household budget needs,” he said. “The earlier this call is made the more successful the outcomes.”

Columbia Gas customers also can get a Home Energy Audit, which costs $20 in Lorain and Elyria.

In the audit, Columbia Gas supplies programmable heat thermostats and low-flow, high performance shower heads as ways for residents to use less energy overall, Frank said. The company has seen average savings of 30 percent by people who get the energy audits, he said. “It’s a slam dunk,” Frank said. The Lorain County Community Action Agency also coordinates The Home Energy Assistance Program for people facing a threat that gas or electric service will be shut off. HEAP is a federally funded program designed to help eligible low-income Ohioans meet the high costs of home heating.

Participants can access the program one time per season and the amount of the benefit depends on the size of the household, household income and what type of fuel is used.

In most cases, the one-time benefit will be a credit applied directly to an energy bill.

So far this year LCCAA has served 977 clients since Nov. 3 in its HEAP Winter Crisis Program, up 11 percent from last year.

LCCAA also administers the Percentage of Income Payment Plan Plus, or PIPP Plus, a payment plan by which customers pay 6 percent of their monthly income toward gas service and 6 percent of monthly income toward electric service. If a home is all-electric, the person pays 10 percent of income for the bill.

“Three or four years into this PIPP Plus program, clients are fully starting to see what this program is and what the benefits are,” said LCCAA Executive Director Jackie Boehnlein.

“And the benefits are huge,” said Cindy Hicks emergency services coordinator for LCCAA. “The benefits are huge and it’s monthly.”

Applicants must meet income guidelines for the various programs. For example, a single person with gross income of $17,505, or a family of four with a gross income up to $35,775, would quality for the PIPP+ program.

When regulated utility companies send out disconnection notices, they include information about the payment assistance.

Anyone interested in learning more should call the automated line because the information will be reported to the utility companies, which will delay the disconnection. The utility providers also will put a hold on the disconnection for people who make appointments with LCCAA.

“What’s really changed for us is, we went from routinely dealing with clients in crisis because they had no heat or were about to have no heat,” Boehnlein said. “What we are dealing with now are PIPP Plus clients.”

Demand has been steady and now people have a better understanding of what help is available, Boehnlein said.

Clients can enroll, and reverify their eligibility once they sign up. Since July 1, LCCAA has enrolled or reverified 3,384 clients for PIPP Plus in Lorain County.

Anyone interested should call the LCCAA energy assistance appointment line at 1-855-806-9620.

“If you believe you may qualify, make the appointment and come in,” Boehnlein said. “Better to have it checked and know for sure than not to receive the benefits of the services.”

This month LCCAA will start a new partnership with El Centro de Servicios Sociales Inc. for workers at that agency to make appointments for util- ity bill consultations. The partnership will be more convenient for people who live in South Lorain and for Spanish speakers, Boehnlein said.

LCCAA also maintains a satellite office in Wellington where people can make appointments to consult with LCCAA about heating help. Appointment hours will be: • 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays at the LCCAA Office at 401 Broadway

• 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday at El Centro

• 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; and 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays at the Wellington office, 115 Willard Monument Square.

More information on the programs also is available at www.lccaa.net and http://bit.ly/KD7y83.