County offers help on delinquent power bills

EL CENTRO — As the delinquent energy accounts for the Imperial Irrigation District reached an all-time high of $10.6 million Tuesday afternoon, Imperial County a day earlier launched a program to help out some of those who are struggling.

Using $1 million from CARES Act funding, the county, in collaboration with IID, instituted the Imperial County Electricity Relief Program.

This came after Imperial County Supervisor Chairman Luis Plancarte last week said that all the CARES Act funding had been allocated.

The IID has been exploring the possibility of ending the moratorium on disconnecting on delinquent accounts.

County Deputy Chief Executive Officer Esperanza Colio pointed out the county will only help Imperial County residents have either have lost their jobs or have had hours reduced due to the coronavirus and are behind on their power bills.

Of the $10.6 million in delinquent accounts, $4.7 million are in Imperial County, which are the ones the program will help. The remaining $5.9 million are for accounts in Coachella Valley.

Applicants must also meet income requirements. For a family of one to three individuals, income cannot exceed $63,650 a year. If approved, they will have a one to three months of delinquent bills paid up to $750.

For families of four people or more, household income cannot exceed $77,750.

The larger family households who are approved would see their delinquent bills be reduced by $1,000, Colio said.

IID will post the information on its website and notify its customers who are delinquent of the program. While the district knows the customers who are delinquent and their contact information, the county does not, so one of IID’s roles is to reach out to its customers.

“We have to ensure that they are affected by the virus and have lost jobs or had hours reduced,” Colio said.

Those customers who lost jobs or had hours reduced but have continued to make payments and are not delinquent on their utility bills are not eligible.

“It’s close to $1 million,” she said. “It depends how it goes.”

Colio said any money received from the CARES Act must be spent by Dec. 30, and the funds will be dispersed on a first-come, first-served basis.

If all of the eligible families received a $1,000 reduction in their delinquent power bills, 1,000 ratepayers in Imperial County would be impacted.

The required documentation includes proof of identification, a signed application, a past due notice, proof of job loss or reduced hours due to coronavirus, and a signed release of personal information.

Colio said the program began Monday. IID began making the calls and the county is now waiting

for those calls.

IID Public Information Officer Robert Schettler commended the county officials for wanting to assist.

“We want to help them facilitate this process,” he said.

Packets can be downloaded at either www.imperialcounty.org or www. iid.com. They can be mailed to the county at 940 Main St., Suite 208, El Centro, CA 92243.