Energy assistance launches Monday
Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced earlier this week that $8.2 million in funding from the federal CARES (Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act had been allocated to provide additional assistance for low-income Arkansans who are having difficulty paying their electric and natural gas bills.
Mitchell Simpson, director of the Arkansas Energy Office, a division of the Arkansas Department for Environmental Quality spoke during a press conference with Hutchinson on Monday to announce the new funding.
Simpson said the $8.2 million will be split to fund two programs: $6.97 will go towards the LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program), and the remaining $1.23 million will go towards the Summer Cooling Program.
There are a few differences in the way funds from the two programs will be distributed, Simpson said. For the LIHEAP program, the maximum benefits have been increased from
$500 to $1,500; applicants must show only a past-due notice, instead of a shut-off notice, which is what is usually required to qualify for assistance; and the program will not be utility-focused only.
Instead of only applying to electricity bills, CARES Act funding for the LIHEAP can also be applied to past-due natural gas bills, Simpson said.
Some of the requirements to qualify for the Summer Cooling program will be different for what’s funded by the CARES Act. Simpson said those who will qualify, in addition to being income-eligible, must have either an elderly household member; a disabled household member; a child under five years old living in the home; or a medical condition verified by a doctor that requires them to have air conditioning in the home.
He said those qualified applicants with central air conditioning installed in their homes will be eligible to have their systems cleaned or repaired, and those who do not currently have any air conditioning in their home may be eligible to have a window A/C unit installed.
For more information, Union County residents should contact the Central Arkansas Development Council (CADC), the community action agency which serves the county, at 870-864-0219. Their office is located at 1432 N. West Ave. in El Dorado, next to Goodwill.