Scheduling Begun For Winter Utility Assistance; Benefits To Increase For Certain Customers

BUTLER COUNTY –Supports to Encourage Low-income Families (SELF), Butler County’s community action agency, is gearing up for another busy winter as demands for aid increase with the record high fuel prices. Some good news is that the emergency benefit available for some customers will increase this winter.

Customers with regulated utilities providers (Duke Energy and DP&L) may receive up to $175 from the Home Energy Assistance Program (E-HEAP) to prevent utility disconnection or restoration of services. These clients are also eligible for a Regular Home Energy Assistance Program (R-HEAP) benefit.

Customers of one or two non-regulated utilities providers (City of Hamilton, Butler Rural and Glenwood Energy) may be receive up to $250 to prevent disconnection. Like regulated utility customers, they are also eligible for R-HEAP but these customers are not covered by the PUCO Winter Reconnect Order which reconnects utilities/power for $175.

Bulk fuel customers (Lykins Oil, Amerigas, Suburban Propane and others) may receive up to $950 for fuel oil or kerosene, up to $750 for propane or bottled gas, and up to $350 for coal, wood or other solid fuels.

SELF’s Emergency Home Energy Assistance Program (E-HEAP) began receiving inquiries about the Winter HEAP guidelines as early as July this year. The program officially begins Monday, November 3 and continues through March 31, 2009. Appointments for assistance are currently being accepted and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to the high volume of expected clients, SELF limits walk-ins to clients facing a disconnection or who will run out of fuel that day.

Each year, the E-HEAP program helps thousands of Butler County families facing disconnection of their utilities to avoid losing their heat during the harsh winter months. SELF made it possible for 2,912 Butler County households to retain their heating in the winter of 2007-2008. Of those assisted last year, the majority were either elderly, disabled, or lived in households with children under the age of five. Many of the families assisted each year are the “working poor,” meaning that they derive income only from employment and not from public assistance.

In preparation for this winter season, SELF sponsored an Energy Forum on October 6, 2008 to bring together Butler County community service agencies, utility providers and county officials to discuss possible plans of action to aid those who are most vulnerable in harsh winter conditions: the elderly, people with disabilities and children under the age of five.

HEAP, a federal program funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides assistance to more than five million Americans each year. There are two parts to the program -- Emergency HEAP (E-HEAP) and Regular HEAP (R-HEAP).

E-HEAP: E-HEAP provides assistance to households that have had heating service disconnected, face the threat of disconnection, have less than a 10-day supply of heating fuel, or need new heating services connected.

R-HEAP: Residents may apply to the Ohio Department of Development for R-HEAP, which allows them to request a credit for part of the average winter costs of their utility bill. R-HEAP runs from November 1, 2008 – April 15, 2009. Applications are available at all SELF locations, utility companies and social service agencies throughout the county.

As part of E-HEAP service, SELF staff members will help residents to complete Regular HEAP applications if necessary and then to send them directly to the Ohio Department of Development’s Office of Community Services so that customers will receive the Regular HEAP credit.

E-HEAP clients will be seen at SELF’s main office in Hamilton, Ohio and at SELF’s offices in Middletown and Oxford.

Please note that, although SELF’s Middletown office is still at 1001 Grove Street in Middletown, the entrance door is now located on Penfield Avenue. Home visits will be available to the elderly and the disabled.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (513) 868-9300 or 1-888-432-7022 toll-free from Middletown. SELF is asking for callers’ patience as the agency expects to see an increased volume of calls each day. HEAP intake specialists encourage clients to call back rather than leave messages in the voicemail box. In order for SELF to provide the best possible service, residents are urged to call for an appointment as soon as they receive a notice of impending utility disconnection.

Back To 2008 News Archive