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PLAINS TWP. — While the agenda began with nuts and bolts on helping those struggling to pay utility bills, it didn’t take long to get personal.
During a Q & A, Joyce Wizda of SpiriTrust Lutheran Home Care & Hospice described one couple she encountered as a social worker. The husband was diagnosed with cancer and couldn’t work, the wife took on a second job. “She works 16 hours a day, they barely make ends meet,” Wizda said.
The question Wizda presented during a “Be Utility Wise” event at Mohegan Sun Convention Center Thursday: Is there an assistance program that takes such situations into account?
Despite a plethora of programs aimed at aiding people with utility bills, because this couple did not meet income requirements the answer was no. “All I could do was point them to a food pantry,” Wizda said, “and there are some charities that help reduce hospital bills.”
The event was one of five arranged around the state on various dates by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, PUC Deputy Press Secretary Robin Tilley said. The goal is to connect state and utility officials with the agencies that help struggling consumers find the help they need, updating information on topics like assistance programs, utility imposters, legal rights and conservation.
“It’s sort of a ‘train the trainers’ event,” Tilley said.
But the discussion of assistance quickly consumed most of the morning agenda, running well over scheduled time. Representatives from PPL Utilities, UGI, Met-Ed/FirstEnergy and the state’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) outlined the levels of help, eligibility requirements and changes this year.
PUC requires all utility companies to have at least five assistance programs, from averaging annual payments into a monthly bill that’s always the same to financial help in short-term situations. Eligibility is often, but not always, based on family income.
The name and details of each program may vary, so it is best to contact your utility company. In fact, PPL Utilities Regulatory Program Specialist Florie McNelis said, customers tend to wait too long, and should be proactive as soon as a problem develops. “The customer has to act.”
Proof of need may also vary for most programs. Generally, the company representatives said, if a family is already eligible for LIHEAP, that is taken as proof. Otherwise, customers may have to provide some income records.
And while company representatives keep an eye out for fraud in assistance programs, UGI Customer Outreach Senior Representative Theresa Antolik noted that representatives are told not to presume. “If they have a wide screen TV, that’s not your business,” she said. “They may have purchased that TV before losing a job.”
While some representatives said they do not provide help restoring service, Antolik said UGI has a program applied on a case by case basis “to try to get service reconnected.” She also noted that this year the company has begun considering aid to “zero income” customers, those who may have no income themselves but get help from family or friends.
Along with the multiple programs each utility sets up by law, the state runs LIHEAP through local agencies, paying part of the winter energy bill directly to the utility for eligible candidates throughout the heating season. LIHEAP also offers short-term “crisis” funding for those who face unexpected problems such as broken heating equipment or running out of fuel.
LIHEAP is typically administered through a county assistance office. In Luzerne and Wyoming counties the Commission on Economic Opportunity is the first recommended contact.
CEO Emergency Energy Services Coordinator Jennifer Warabak offered a few examples of how the program helped area residents, including a couple with two children, one of them diagnosed with leukemia.
“One parent took an unpaid leave of absence to care for the child” who received treatment in Philadelphia,Warabak said. “That meant a loss of income and an increase in travel expenses.”
Antolik provided another: A couple ages 84 and 87 faced a sudden increase in medicine costs that forced a choice between drugs and heating fuel. “She was very emotional. They were approved for assistance, and avoided service termination.”
