Number needing heating assistance expected to grow

The number of people seeking help with their heating bills is lower than last year -- but there's still about two months left to catch up.

Sue Reed, Mid-Sioux Opportunity outreach coordinator for Plymouth County, said she has taken about 607 applications as of January for the 2009-10 Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

"All of our counties are lower than where we want to be," Reed said. "It's just the flow of people. We're hoping to the next couple of months we'll get the app. count up."

In 2008-09 she received a total of 684 applications during the process, which begins Oct. 1 for senior citizens and those on fixed incomes and opens to the general public Nov. 1.

It ends April 15, Reed said.

Qualifying for assistance through LIHEAP is based on a system where applicants earn points, which are designated a dollar amount, for things like income, heat sources and whether there are elderly or children in the home, Reed said.

"The average award amount has been about a $605 one time payment," Reed said. "It's up a little bit from last year."

This year's points are valued at $55, compared to $50 in 2008-09, according to Julie Colling, Mid-Sioux Opportunity housing/energy services director.

Residents who are approved for LIHEAP assistance fall under Iowa's Winter Disconnection Moratorium and cannot have a utility disconnected for failure to pay between Nov. 1 and April 1, 2010.

LIHEAP works like this: it pays a portion of the energy bills in a lump sum to a heating vendor, and that credit is used to pay monthly bills.

The State of Iowa received $67.8 million in federal money as base funding for LIHEAP this year, the same amount as last year. In January the state received an additional $4.8 million of Emergency Contingency federal dollars, Colling said.

"Weather and economic conditions were the primary factors motivating the administration to provide the additional funds," Colling said.

Out of both of those allocations of funds Mid-Sioux received a total of just over $1.5 million, but can request additional Regular Assistance money from the state if the money runs out before April 30, Colling said.

Reed encourages people who think they may be qualified for heating assistance to apply.

"It frees up money to be used in other places in the household," Reed said. "It's all income based and the application process is pretty easy."

She takes applications Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the Mid-Sioux Opportunity Outreach Office in Le Mars, 180 10th St. S.E.

Applicants need to bring a heat bill and an electric bill along with 13 weeks of documented income from the date they apply back or a 2008 tax return. For those on fixed incomes, like Social Security, they must also document that income.

People can call Mid-Sioux Opportunity's Le Mars office at 546-6603 or its main office in Remsen at 1-800-859-2025 for more information.