$150 million released for home-heating help
www.stjoenews-press.com Wednesday, March 05, 2003 By KEN NEWTON kenn@npgco.com
On a cold day, the news from Washington warmed some low-income families in Missouri.
The Bush administration on Tuesday released $150 million for home-heating assistance. The allotment included $1.85 million for Missouri.
Funds from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program have helped about 1,500 families in Buchanan County, said Pat Niland, Division of Family Services income-maintenance supervisor in St. Joseph.
The program helps eligible families pay for heating and insulating their homes in the winter. They can get one subsidy per heating season, Ms. Niland said, with the amount dependent on household size, income and source of heat.
“Some folks are being threatened with shutoff, and others are not,” she said.
Missouri’s Cold Weather Rule, adopted by the state’s Public Service Commission in 1977, helps protect families having trouble paying their home energy bills. Between Nov. 1 and March 31, utilities under PSC jurisdiction can not shut off service on a day when the temperature is expected to be below 30 degrees.
Tuesday’s release of program funding was the second this year. In January, the administration turned over to states $200 million in emergency funds, $2.96 million of which came to Missouri.
“It’s always good news when we have a release of that money,” PSC Chairman Kelvin Simmons said Tuesday.
Mr. Simmons said that as early as last April, the PSC believed that the situation in the Middle East and political turmoil in Venezuela could push higher the costs of natural gas. This spike in heating costs would put a greater burden on low-income families.
“The only saving grace now is that we’re getting some warmer weather,” he said. “It would be a different story if this were November instead of March.”
Paul Snider, a spokesman for Missouri Gas Energy in St. Joseph, said recent warm winters and one heating season of extraordinarily high gas prices makes it hard to fully gauge the need for assistance this year.
But, he noted, the release of federal money is welcome to those who take advantage of the program.
“It will be put to good use,” he said.
Those interested in the program can call the local Division of Family Services office at (816) 387-2000, or the state office at (800) 392-1261.