Winter looms as state awaits word on heat aid

CEDAR RAPIDS - Iowa's winter heating season will likely see more low-income residents needing help with their fuel bills from a smaller federal fund.

"We don't even know what our funding is yet," said Jerry McKim, who administers the state's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). "All we know for certain is we're going to have a cut."

The Iowa Bureau of Energy Assistance distributed$71 million to 95,018 households last year, an average of $560 each. Congress is still working on this year's program, but the Obama administration has submitted a proposal for $2.57 billion, down from last year's $4.7 billion national pool.

Both the House and Senate appropriations committees have approved $3.4 billion for LIHEAP, "but they're vastly different on how they allocate those funds to the states," McKim said.

Iowa would receive $62.7 million under the Senate formula, $36.7 million under the House plan. Negotiators from both houses are working out a compromise.

"The best scenario is we see a 10 percent cut," said McKim. "Or 45 percent. We started taking applications Oct. 1, and we have to have a formula to determine what the household benefit is."

Cedar Rapids-based Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP) has fielded about 2,300 applications, program manager Lorna Golson said. Last year, HACAP distributed $4,170,000 in heating assistance to 9,400 households in Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Washington counties.

Most LIHEAP households will receive $200 to $250 this winter, Golson said, but those heating with fuel oil or propane will get a minimum $500 benefit.

"Those sources are more expensive, and most vendors require at least a minimal fill, which is usually right at $500," Golson said.

The state's wintertime moratorium on utility shutoffs begins Tuesday and runs through March. The state's regulated utilities disconnected 4,419 homes in September and resumed service to 3,162.

The difference between those two numbers - 1,257 - "tells you how many people are going into the middle of the winter without any power," McKim said.

Regulated utilities listed 254,156 delinquent accounts owing $26.7 million in September.

"If this was one city, the government would be declaring a state of emergency," said McKim. "If it's disbursed, it's unseen, it's not a crisis. But for everyone of those households, it's an emergency."

LIHEAP is available to households earning up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level - $33,525 for a family of four. For information in HACAP's service area, call (319) 393-7811, or email info@hacap.org.

For information in other Iowa counties, call the local community action agency or the Bureau of Energy Assistance, (515)281-0859.