uncharted Utility companies are urging those families and others who may need help for the first time to apply for additional programs or give them a call.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw an increase in phone calls by over 30 percent in our largest utility program, so the need for utility assistance is real,\u201d said Alan Michel, Dollar Energy Fund COO.<\/p>\n
Thousands of the most vulnerable households are facing the \u201cheat or eat\u201d dilemma, with the delay of both SNAP benefits and the start of LIHEAP, a federal energy assistance program.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlankets, hoodies – we try to stay as warm as possible, said Nicholas Edmonds of Carnegie. \u201cEverybody is struggling here.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a one-two punch for Edmonds, who works full-time to support his family and has picked up extra hours, trying to make ends meet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are struggling with some of our bills, but you know, we\u2019re making do and doing what we can to make that work,\u201d Edmonds said.<\/p>\n
LIHEAP customers can apply for a customer assistance program (CAP) offered through Peoples Gas and Duquesne Light. There are income requirements for CAP, as well as Peoples\u2019 \u2018Usage Reduction Program,\u2019 but that is not the case for DLC\u2019s Customer Assistance and Referral Evaluation Services (CARES). It\u2019s a program for those facing payment challenges and temporary hardships.<\/p>\n
Andrea Stanford, the general manager of Duquesne Light Company, called the current times \u201cunprecedented,\u201d \u201cuncertain,\u201d and \u201cuncharted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are folks who, historically, have not considered themselves to be low income, and maybe for the first time they\u2019re experiencing the need to reach out for energy assistance,\u201d said Stanford.<\/p>\n
The Dollar Energy Fund offers utility assistance grants for low-income households who are at risk of having their utilities turned off. Applicants must submit information for each utility and must apply for LIHEAP once it opens. Right now, it\u2019s delayed until December.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good that the utility companies are starting to help people a bit because utilities are high enough, and they\u2019ve gone up, and I just know they\u2019re going to keep going up,\u201d Edmonds said.<\/p>\n
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