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Michigan Commission Provides More Low-Income Aid

On January 25 the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) approved a round of grants totaling $15 million from the Low Income and Energy Efficiency (LIEE) Fund. The grants will be used to assist low-income utility customers with their bills.

"With temperatures down and natural gas prices up, we all are seeing higher energy bills, and low-income people are particularly in need of extra help this winter," MPSC Chair J. Peter Lark said in a press release.

The majority of the funding, $11.4 million, went to the Family Independence Agency (FIA), the LIHEAP grantee, to restore energy services to LIHEAP households already disconnected and to prevent threatened shut-off of energy services.

Other recipients were the Michigan Community Action Agency Association (MCAAA), which received $1.1 million for direct heating assistance and deliverable fuels programs for low-income households; The Heat and Warmth Fund, which received $1.1 million for the THAW Safety Net Program; and the Salvation Army, which got $1.05 million to serve households statewide ineligible for assistance from FIA or for whom such assistance is insufficient or not available.

The Commission received proposals from eight organizations with requests totaling more than $52 million. In awarding these 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 to serve multiple counties.

This is the third round of LIEE funding from the Commission this fiscal year. During October it allocated $20 million to the FIA, THAW, MCAAA and the Salvation Army for bill payment assistance programs similar to those mentioned above, and it issued $8 million to FIA, community action groups and others for low-income energy efficiency projects.

Source: Michigan PSC

Page Last Updated: January 27, 2010