Agencies: Coloradans struggling to pay utilities

Xcel Energy, Avalanche pledge $1,000 per assist by team to nonprofit that assists with heat bills

Natural gas prices are lower than a year ago, when many Coloradans saw big jumps in their heating bills, but the need for help to pay utility bills remains high, say agencies that offer assistance.

For the week ending Jan. 21, the nonprofit Energy Outreach Colorado fielded 555 applications for assistance and spent $333,229, said spokeswoman Denise Stepto.

“The need is just unprecedented. These numbers are bigger than we’ve seen them before,” Stepto said.

She attributes the ongoing need to overall elevated costs. And Stepto said she’s bracing to see the fallout from the recent stretch of frigid weather when temperatures dropped into the single digits and below zero.

“We are anticipating an increase then because people were doing what they needed to do try to stay warm,” Stepto said.

The organization that provides assistance is getting its own help from the Colorado Avalanche and Xcel Energy-colorado. The utility is donating $1,000 for every Avalanche home assist this NHL season.

So far, the Avalanche have made 171 assists at home, racking up $171,000 for Energy Outreach

Colorado. Stepto said the money contributed to date will support 245 households.

Xcel is also encouraging Avalanche fans to donate directly by going to https://www.energyoutreach.org/assist/.

At Colorado’s Low-income Energy Assistance Program, or LEAP, 98,814 applications were submitted as of last Tuesday. The total was 96,102 at the same point in 2023, said Vanessa Pena, LEAP program coordinator.

The money for LEAP comes from the federal government. The program, in the Colorado Department of Human Services, accepts applications from Nov. 1 to April 30.

Last winter, a spike in wholesale natural gas prices coupled with cold weather drove up people’s heat bills across the state. Typical gas bills increased about 75% in late 2022 and early 2023, the staff at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission reported.

In late 2022, wholesale natural gas prices soared above $5 per unit but have decreased since then. The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects the price to average $2.70 per unit in 2024.

But many people continue to struggle to pay their utility bills along with higher grocery and housing costs, Stepto said.

“The cost of everything is up. It’s not just energy,” Stepto said. “The cost of living, rent, food and medication, all these things are higher.”

A state help line that people can call for about their bills or problems with their heating systems has already gotten about 83,760 calls this winter. Requests go to both LEAP and Energy Outreach Colorado and can be made by calling 1-866-HEAT-HELP or 1-866-432-8435.

In 2023, LEAP received a total of 137,341 applications for benefits. Out of those, 88,938 households received assistance. The average benefit paid last year was $559.29, compared to this season’s average of $458.80.

To qualify for LEAP, Coloradans may have an income up to 60% of the state median income, equating to a household income of less than $71,112 a year for a family of four.

“LEAP can only cover so much because it’s a one-time assistance,” Pena said.

Energy Outreach Colorado, a nonprofit started by the Colorado

General Assembly in 1989, helped a total of 26,561 households with their bills in 2023. Of those, 6,053 households included older people; 7,677 included people with disabilities; and 15,120 included children.

Altogether, Energy Outreach served 38,289 households through its programs, including crisis intervention, community solar gardens and making homes more energy efficient. The organization’s money comes from donations, corporate partnerships with corporations and federal, state and local governments.

Donors include renewable energy companies Namaste Solar and Pivot Energy. In late 2023, Namaste’s monthlong Keep the Lights on Colorado campaign raised $50,000 from individual donors and corporate sponsors to provide 116 families with subscriptions to solar gardens. It was the fourth year the Boulderbased company has raised money for the subscriptions, which will cut families’ electric bills through credits for solar power.

Energy Outreach received $85,000 from Pivot Energy, a national solar power provider, in December to support its work electrifying households in Boulder County. The money will go to the organization’s Colorado Affordable Residential Energy program for heat pumps.