Negotiations among Iowa’s investor-owned utilities, the Iowa Consumer
Advocate’s Office and the Iowa Utility Board (IUB) have doubled the amount of money
available for low-income weatherization programs.
Since 1990, Iowa law has required IOUs to submit residential energy efficiency plans to
the IUB. The plans include funding for low-income weatherization programs through local
community agencies, along with money for additional measures such as new heating/cooling
systems.
The IUB asked the utilities to increase that amount, and the utilities responded by
doubling the amount they’d made available in the past. According to Gordon Dunn, IUB
utility specialist for energy efficiency, the state’s four utilities will make the
following contributions: Interstate Power and Light (Alliant): $1.24 million (available
July 1, 2003); MidAmerican: $2,074,000 (available January 1, 2004); Aquila: $594,500 (to
be phased in between October 1, 2003 and February 2004); and Atmos Energy: $59,250
(available January 1, 2004).
The IUB also asked the utilities to investigate any obstacles to providing
weatherization services to more low-income households. Dunn said that the utilities’
initial investigations indicate that one of the main obstacles is the high percentage of
the low-income housing stock that is rental property – 50 to 60 percent of low-income
households in Iowa rent their homes – and there is very low landlord interest in
participating in weatherization programs.
Washington REACH Seeks to
Harness Wind for Low Income
Washington’s second REACH grant is an ambitious plan to "increase
self-sufficiency of low-income families by securing long-term fixed-price energy sources
and nonfederal energy assistance by participating in the rollout of Washington’s wind power industry."
Specifically, the project aims to develop 12 megawatts of wind power dedicated to
low-income households through a partnership between utilities and the state’s LIHEAP,
weatherization, and Community Services Block Grant network and to reduce the energy burden
of 12,000 LIHEAP-eligible families by 20 percent.
The Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) the
LIHEAP grantee, will administer the three-year grant through A World Institute for a
Sustainable Humanity (A W.I.S.H.), a Washington nonprofit that has provided training and
technical assistance, expert witnesses, program design, strategic planning, and advocacy
for public interest clients across the nation, and was also the lead contractor for Washington's 2000
REACH grant.
"Finally, Washington has a chance to move toward a clean and affordable energy
future and environmental justice, while stimulating rural economic development," said
A W.I.S.H. President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Karp.
The project will work toward its goals through the following activities: helping
low-income agencies acquire and operate wind-turbines, exchanging the energy produced for
rate discounts or rebates to low-income customers, and by helping low-income agencies
become part owners in cooperatively-owned wind farms with blocks of power set aside for
low-income households.
Securing long-term, fixed-price energy sources and non-federal energy assistance
through the wind power industry will increase self-sufficiency of low-income families for
the next 20 years – the minimum expected life span of a wind power plant, Karp added.
According to the proposal, REACH funds will be used for activities such as
partnership-building, technical assistance, and grant writing, in order to position the
LIHEAP/ weatherization/ CSBG Network at the table as wind power develops in Washington.
Funding for wind power construction will come from non-REACH funds. Potential funding
sources range from utilities and foundations to bond financing and federal grants and
contracts.
The project has a wide range of partners including Coastal Community Action Agency in
Grays Harbor, which will serve as a model program for wind turbine acquisition, siting and
operation and will provide technical assistance to other community action agencies on the
development process. Grays Harbor School District will provide land for the model program
and will use the site to teach students about energy.
Other partners include Northwest S.E.E.D, which has conducted wind mapping of the
Pacific Northwest; Western SUN, an association of the region’s utilities promoting
renewable energy; the Last Mile Energy Co-op, a utility consortium formed to invest in
wind power; and the Renewable Northwest Project, a regional renewables advocacy group.
Karp also cited the vision of Dick Saul for advocating language supportive to renewable
energy and sustainability in the REACH RFP. Saul is a longtime renewables advocate and
former director of REACH at the federal Office of Community Services.
Return to Contents
Georgia Gathers Arsenal
of Supplemental Funding
As winter approaches, Georgia is assembling a diverse arsenal of programs and funding
sources to supplement its LIHEAP funding. Sources include universal service funds (USF),
utility donations and programs, and fines on gas marketers that the state Public Service
Commission (PSC) has directed to the LIHEAP office.
In March, the PSC released $5 million of USF monies for low-income energy payment
assistance. About $3 million of that is being used as matching funds to help eligible
seniors pay their natural gas bills; that is, these customers receive both a LIHEAP
payment and an identical amount from the USF allocation.
According to Joyce Hull, Georgia’s LIHEAP director, the program is working so well
that some seniors will be starting this winter with a credit on their natural gas bills.
In another effort affecting low-income seniors, the state LIHEAP office is working with
Atlanta Gas Light – the natural gas transmission company that sells gas to other
marketers in the state – to tie its existing $10.50 monthly discount for seniors into
the state LIHEAP system. If the company agrees to the plan, low-income seniors will
automatically begin receiving the discount as soon as they sign up for LIHEAP. AGL also
recently made a $100,000 contribution to the LIHEAP office.
Perhaps the most unusual source of supplemental LIHEAP funds in Georgia is fines on
marketers that have violated state consumer protection provisions. Over the past several
months, the PSC has ordered three marketers to contribute to LIHEAP: 1) Energy America,
$400,000, for "slamming" customers – that is, signing them up without their
consent; 2) Southern Company, $100,000, for failure to abide by disconnection rules; and
3) ACN Energy, $17,000, also for disconnection violations.
Hull said her office is working on another program, this one with Georgia Power, to
benefit LIHEAP recipients. Georgia Power is the state’s largest electric utility and
the new program would take advantage of the company’s existing free energy audit
program for its residential customers. The LIHEAP office has asked the utility to consider
assigning a "point person" to take referrals from local community action
agencies (CAAs). The CAAs would contact the point person about LIHEAP recipients who could
benefit from home energy audits; the utility would then contact the recipients directly to
schedule an audit.
Many people are not aware of the free energy audit service, Hull said, and the proposed
referrals would shift the responsibility for educating consumers about energy-saving
services from the customer to the local agency and utility.
Return to Contents
Massachusetts Regulators Start Process
Toward Automatic Discount Enrollment
On August 8, the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy (DTE)
approved an automatic
enrollment program for the state’s mandatory gas and electric utility discounts.
According to Charles Harak of the National Consumer Law Center, this should enable
thousands of welfare and food-stamp recipients to save hundreds of dollars a year on their
electric and natural gas bills once the automatic enrollment system is underway.
The utility discount program began through negotiations with individual utilities in
the early 1980’s and was made mandatory through the state’s utility
restructuring legislation in 1997.
During FY 2002, utility discounts were received by over 80,000 low-income natural gas
customers and over 154,000 low-income electric customers, with savings totaling about
$35.7 million.
However, according to Commissioner Deirdre Manning, who supported the ruling, the
program has been hobbled in the past by a cumbersome sign-up process resulting in about 27
percent participation by eligible low-income residents. The primary and most successful
method of enrollment has been through the state’s community action agencies, which
enroll clients when they sign up for LIHEAP.
The new DTE-approved plan will allow the state – via a computer-match review of
its welfare rolls – to flag additional low-income residents who qualify for the
discounts. The state Executive Office of Health and Human Services will then alert utility
companies about who is eligible for the utility bill discounts, which vary by company, but
average 20 percent. There will be an "opt out" provision for those who choose
not to participate.
Harak said the automatic enrollment system probably won’t be fully underway
until mid-to late 2004. He said the discounts are rate-based, that is, costs will be
recovered through rates paid by all utility customers. "We estimate that thousands of
eligible people, now unaware of the program, will be signed up," he noted.
"However, the cost could be in the millions."
Commissioner Manning said the DTE is working with the utilities to find a mechanism to
fund the program.
Return to Contents
New Funding Sources Emerge in Illinois
Among the three low-income energy bills introduced in Illinois’ General Assembly
this year, two have become law: SB 1066 and SB 1330.
SB 1066 – cited as the Good Samaritan Energy Plan – creates a special purpose
trust fund to be used for LIHEAP. The Good Samaritan Energy Trust Fund is a special fund
in the State Treasury, which is administered by the Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity (DCEO), the LIHEAP grantee. It allows voluntary donations from individuals,
foundations, corporations and other sources. It also authorizes DCEO to insert letters
soliciting contributions in utility bills. It allocates monies from the fund to be
distributed to low-income consumers to help them pay gas or electric bill arrearages in
order to keep their utility services connected.
SB 1330 – cited as the Utility Termination Bill – amends the Public Utilities
Act to prevent utility companies from disconnecting any LIHEAP-eligible residential
customer for nonpayment of service during the period from December 1 through March 31.
Both bills were signed by Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich on July 22 and they went into effect
immediately. Once signed, these bills became Public Acts: SB 1066 became Public Act
93-285, and SB 1330 became Public Act 93-289.
The third low-income energy assistance bill, HB 2380, which sought to limit the utility
bills of eligible households to a percentage of their income, did not make it out of the
Rules Committee.
Return to Contents
Colorado’s CEAF Changes Name
The Colorado Energy Assistance Foundation, a fuel fund that has helped supplement
Colorado’s LIHEAP since its creation through an executive order in 1989, has changed
its name to Energy Outreach Colorado in an
effort to gain more visibility and attract a wider range of donors.
The organization announced its name change on September 24 along with the tag line
"Together we generate the power to help."
Although the organization has raised millions and served a significant part of the
state, its leadership felt that few people know what it is, and its mission – raising
money to allocate to LIHEAP and state nonprofits for energy assistance and weatherization
– was often obscured.
Furthermore, the former name didn't adequately represent all that the organization
does, from helping to pay energy bills and weatherize homes, to teaching conservation and
advocating for the poor, said agency executive director Skip Arnold. The need for a name
change has been apparent for a long time, and research about changing the name, tag line
and positioning started about a year ago, he said.
The agency hired Juice Communications Inc., an advertising and brand image company, to
help it reposition itself in the marketplace.
Juice's focus groups found that while about 50 percent of people knew there was some
kind of agency in Colorado that helped low-income residents pay their energy bills, only 1
percent knew it by name.
The agency has also begun reaching out to new donor groups, such as the state's oil and
gas industry. Since those efforts started, the amount of donations from oil and gas
companies has more than doubled, Arnold said.
The agency, under its new name, also plans to expand opportunities for people to get
involved. It plans to create a volunteer program for those who can't afford to give much
money as well as a "Give Them $5" program to promote $5 monthly donations from
people in addition to one-time donations.
Return to Contents
NCAT Awarded LIHEAP Clearinghouse Contract;
Toll-Free Phone Number Discontinued
The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) recently received a multi-year
contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Community
Services, to continue its national Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program Clearinghouse
(LIHEAP) project, which publishes this newsletter.
The Clearinghouse is an information service for state, tribal, territorial and local
LIHEAP providers, and others interested in low-income energy issues. It collects,
develops, organizes and disseminates information on low-income energy issues to LIHEAP
grantees; community action agencies and local government offices; low-income energy
service organizations, fuel funds, utilities and utility regulatory commissions and media.
NCAT received its first award to operate the LIHEAP Clearinghouse in 1988, and has
consistently expanded the services the project offers to keep pace with technology and
client needs. Through its website, this newsletter, and a dedicated phone line,
NCAT’s LIHEAP Clearinghouse has become a recognized national resource on LIHEAP and
other low-income energy programs operated by states, utilities and nonprofit community,
charitable, and church groups. For the past two years, the LIHEAP Clearinghouse has also
operated the National Energy Assistance Referral (NEAR) project, which provides the
general public with free referrals on where to apply for LIHEAP. NEAR will continue under
the Clearinghouse contract.
The only major change in LIHEAP Clearinghouse operations is that its toll-free phone
number has been discontinued. To contact the LIHEAP Clearinghouse staff, call 406-494-8662
or send an email to Kay Joslin or Sherry Vogel. To contact NEAR, call 866-674-6327, or
send an email to energy@ncat.org.
Return to Contents
Low Income Energy Resources
Weatherization PLUS: Other Efficiency and Housing Investments
Delivered by Local Weatherizers in PY 2000
This report by Dr. Meg Power, Economic Opportunity Studies, is the result of surveys of
over 300 local weatherization providers. It details the resources they garnered in
addition to federal Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) funds, which were used for
"Weatherization PLUS" projects – those that provide additional WAP measures
or add investments not supported by WAP. This coordination of resources from two or more
complementary programs in low-income homes is a major strength of DOE/WAP, Power wrote,
and this study is the first to collect and analyze local information on both the level of
local resources and on the combination of those resources. "The study of WAP-PLUS in
"action", by quantifying the varied mixes of resources and the number of
affected low-income energy consumers, suggests the formidable capabilities, both
entrepreneurial and managerial of the subgrantees participating in the study," Power
concluded.
The Feasibility of Low-income Natural
Gas Aggregation in Minnesota
This report to the Minnesota Department of Commerce by Ron Elwood, Legal Services
Advocacy Project, and Pam Marshall, Energy Cents Coalition, may prove to be a first step
toward aggregation of low-income natural gas customers in Minnesota. The study examined
successful low-income aggregation programs across the country, as well as unsuccessful
attempts and why these attempts failed.
The study concluded that aggregation is a complex and risky endeavor that requires
considerable expertise and experience. "No program can succeed unless it shifts the
risk inherent in its operation away from the intended beneficiaries (i.e., the low-income
participants in the aggregation pool) and onto taxpayers, ratepayers, agencies, suppliers,
marketers, or some other entity," the authors summarized.
Successful aggregation attempts include the following programs that: 1) combined
low-income and municipal loads (New York); 2) aggregated low-income consumers enrolled in
a Percentage-of-Income Payment plan (Ohio); 3) formed a gas-buying cooperative (a
community action agency in Kentucky); and 4) purchased natural gas options for its members
(low-income and non-low income residential consumers) as a hedge against high prices
(Illinois).
The study recommended that the Minnesota Legislature and Public Utilities Commission
adopt laws and regulations allowing low-income aggregation programs (large commercial and
industrial customers in the state already are allowed to aggregate their loads or buy from
non-local gas companies). Available at http://www.lsapmn.org
or from Elwood at:
relwood@mnlsap.org.
The Economic Impacts of Home
Energy Assistance in Colorado
This recent report by Roger Colton, of Fisher, Sheehan & Colton, presents the
findings of a study in which he analyzed how energy assistance delivered in Colorado
positively influenced the state’s economy. The study, conducted for the Colorado
Energy Assistance Foundation (CEAF), looked at the total economic benefits – both
direct and secondary – provided by the distribution of energy assistance in Colorado.
In FY 2002, CEAF and LIHEAP cash fuel assistance benefits to low-income households
added more than $23.1million directly to the state’s economy, plus $3.6 million
through administrative and outreach activities. However, Colton found that complete
economic impacts of energy assistance extend beyond these direct impacts to three other
areas: earnings, employment and economic activity. Available online at http://www.fsconline.com.
On the Brink / Home Energy Affordability Gap
A compilation of state-by-state analyses titled "On the Brink" details the
"home energy affordability gap" experienced by low-income households in the 50
states and the District of Columbia. Also by Roger Colton, it details the number of
low-income households at various levels of poverty and their home energy burdens.
It also details the extent to which federal LIHEAP resources are inadequate, i.e., the
amount by which low-income energy bills exceeded affordable energy bills at this
year’s and last year’s fuel prices. Each state is given an "energy gap
ranking," comparing it to other states in terms of energy burdens for the very low
income, the percent of persons below 100 percent of poverty, and the percent that each
state’s heating/cooling affordability gap is covered by LIHEAP. Finally, the percent
of the low-income energy bill that goes to each end use, i.e., heating, cooling,
non-heating and cooling electricity, and water heating, is shown. Available online at http://www.fsconline.com.
Return to Contents
