ORLANDO, Fla. — Near-record cold temperatures are coming this weekend. With added electrical costs to power heaters, some people are already dreading their next electric bill. People on fixed incomes or already tight budgets have concerns about paying for their power after this cold snap fades away.

What You Need To Know

OUC helps some families pay electric bills through its Project Care Program

Heart of Florida United Way is helping. Anyone can call, chat or text 211 to be connected to groups that can help

Senior Resource Alliance is helping seniors pay electric bills through its EHEAP Program

Orlando Utilities Commission is helping some families pay electric bills through its OUC Project Care Program. Spectrum News 13 also spoke with local groups responding to help families pay to stay warm.

Christian Steiner is director of Operations for the Senior Resource Alliance or SRA.

“In the last calendar year, we helped over 500 households with emergency energy crisis assistance in Central Florida,” he said.

The SRA can help seniors struggling to pay their power bills through its EHEAP Program. A family with someone age 60 or older can receive up to $2,000 to help pay past due bills, disconnection and late fees, prepaying energy bills and buying blankets.

Steiner says assistance arrives quickly.

“Generally, you will receive a call back within 48 hours. There are emergency situations if the power has already been disconnected which you’ll receive contact even sooner than that,” he said.

People needing help can call the Senior Resource Alliance Elder Helpline at 1-407-514-1800.

The Heart of Florida United Way can help people of all ages with their electric bills. Anyone can call, text or chat 211 to be connected with groups like Catholic Charities of Central Florida that can help.

Deacon Gary Tester says Catholic Charities serves nine counties in the area and helps families on a case-by-case basis. Individuals can call Catholic Charities for help, and a case worker will review the situation to see if they qualify for help.

“Where they are facing cut off or discontinuation of service we can step in and help. So, we can help the mom with the three kids theoretically and we can also help seniors over 60,” Tester said.

Utilities are working to help customers monitor their power usage and bills. Florida Power and Light offers an energy manager, which tracks energy usage to anticipate costs. Duke Energy sends customers emails letting them know how much power they are using halfway through their billing cycle so they have time to adjust.  

The SRA wants seniors to know help is available.

“So we want to make sure that people call the Elder Helpline, get plugged in, apply and get the energy assistance that they need,” Steiner said.

United Against Poverty Orlando is another nonprofit group working with OUC and Duke Energy to help people struggling to pay their electric bills, using rebates and credits.

OUC is asking its 400,000 customers in Central Florida to reduce their use of electricity this coming Sunday and Monday mornings between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. That’s expected to be the time with the highest demand for electricity during this cold snap.