DEAR PROBE

QI am one of the people who lost my job and income because of COVID-19. The Imperial Irrigation District has been touting for a while its Residential Energy Assistance Program that offers low-income residents a 20 percent reduction on the bills. It’s 30 percent for seniors. The IID has reported people impacted by COVID19 would be able to qualify, but I am not so sure. One of the documents the IID wants when applying is the person’s 2019 tax return. Why? All this tax return is going to tell the IID is what I used to make, not what I make now. They also want past paycheck stubs from people who are unemployed or under employed. Is the REAP program really for everyone?

– Bill

El Centro

AIID Public Information Officer Robert Schettler said the simple and quickanswer is yes. He said past income documentation is only needed to help determine the length of assistance the person needs.

For example, he said, if the 2019 income taxes show the household income was well within the maximum household income guidelines, the person can qualify for one year of assistance.

If the 2019 income taxes show that the household income was above the income guidelines, yet the current income situation (COVID) qualifies the ratepayer for assistance at this time, this person would be able to qualify for six months of assistance.

The ratepayer can also continue to apply after their period of assistance has elapsed, he said.