| There are several assistance programs available in Connecticut. There are
also a number of laws that protect against utility shut-offs and help those who are in
debt for gas and electric bills.
Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP)
All amounts shown below are for
the 2006-2007 winter season. New
figures will be provided when released. Click here for income limit guidelines for the 2006-2007 winter
season.
Eligibility
Assistance paying heating bills is available to
lower-income Connecticut households.
- Household income can be up to $2,322/month for one
person, $3,037/month for two persons, or $3,751/month for three persons.
- There is also an asset limit: $10,000 for home owners and
$7,000 for others. Bank accounts, stocks and bonds, retirement savings such as
Individual Retirement Accounts, etc. are counted. The value of your home, car
and personal property is not counted.
Benefits
If the household pays directly for heat, depending on
household income, benefits between $300 and $675 are available for the heating season.
Benefits can be used to purchase utility service (natural gas, electricity) or
"deliverable" fuel (oil, propane, wood, coal). Payments are made directly
to the energy provider on behalf of the household. Furnaces can be cleaned and
tested through this program.
*For utility heated households, the full benefit is paid
directly to the utility company.
*For
deliverable fuel heated households, payments are authorized as needed for bills
incurred between November 1st and March 15th. Additional
emergency assistance may be available for deliverable fuel heated households if their
benefit is used up before March 15th and the household needs a fuel delivery.
If heat costs are included in the rent and rent is
more than 30% of income, lower income households are eligible for a payment between $240
and $270, depending on household income. This payment is made directly to the
household in the spring. For this benefit household income must be under $1,225/month for
one person, $1,650/month for two persons, or $2,075/month for three persons.
When and where
to apply
Applications may be made between August
15th and May 1st at the local Community Action Agency (CAA) or
volunteer sites, which can be identified by calling INFOLINE at 211 or the Department of
Social Services' (DSS) Energy Line at 1-800-842-1132. Information is also available
at the DSS web site: www.ct.gov/staywarm
Assistance is available to help persons who are
homebound complete applications. Contact the CAA responsible for handling the application.
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Fuel banks
Fuel banks are located throughout the state. Each fuel
bank has its own criteria for providing assistance. Some fuel banks may be closed during
certain times of the year, often depending on the availability of funds. For information
on local fuel banks, contact INFOLINE at 211 or visit www.operationfuel.org .
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Veterans
assistance
A veterans or the widowed spouse of a veteran who was
honorably discharged may be able to access emergency funds through the Soldiers', Sailors'
and Marines' Fund. Every town has a volunteer who takes applications. For information,
call INFOLINE at 211. While this fund is not specifically for energy or utility expenses,
it can be used for this purpose.
Conservation
Assistance and Heating System Repairs or Replacement
Weatherization assistance to reduce
energy or utility expenses is available for both low-income renters and homeowners.
Assistance may include such conservation measures as repairs to or, in limited cases,
replacement of refrigerators or furnaces, depending on need.
CAAs have window film kits available to seal
windows in the winter, and some funds to repair or replace unsafe or inoperable furnaces
– ask for this help from the CAA responsible for your energy assistance application.
CL&P customers can apply for assistance
by contacting the WRAP program at 1-800-388-9727 and an application can be
downloaded here. UI customers can call UI at 1-203-499-2737 and ask for conservation
assistance.
Gas company and municipal utility customers
should call their utility company and ask about conservation assistance, as they also have
assistance available.
The SmartLiving Center (297 Boston Post Rd.
(Rt.1), Orange, CT gives away free weatherization kits to those taking their tour.
Homeowners may be able qualify for loans to take
conservation measures with subsidized interest. These loans are handled by the CT Housing
Finance Authority.
INFOLINE at 211 can direct households to application
sites.
For information regarding other
programs that assist with home conservation, go to the CT Energy Efficiency
Fund web site.
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Assistance
for People Who Receive Cash Benefits from the State
Homeowners who receive cash assistance from the
Department of Social Services (DSS) under the State Supplement program (also called Aid to
the Aged, Blind and Disabled or AABD), TFA (assistance for families with children) or SAGA
(State Administered General Assistance) may be able to get assistance from DSS for repairs
necessary to allow the household to remain in the home they own. This can be useful for
repairs, for example, of broken windows or furnaces.
Renters and homeowners who receive cash
assistance from DSS may be able to get assistance if they are charged a security deposit
for heating service by a municipal utility or deliverable fuel company. (UI, CL&P, YG,
SCG and CNG cannot charge low-income customers security deposits.)
Contact your DSS worker if you need assistance.
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Protection from Utility Shut-offs and Lack of Heat
Low-income households cannot have electric service or
natural gas heating service terminated for nonpayment between November 1st and
April 15th and if service is shut-off it must be turned back on during this
period. No payment is required for reinstatement of electric service, but in some cases a
$100 payment can be required for reinstatement of gas service. To obtain protection from
winter shut-offs, called "hardship" status, an application must be filed with
the utility company each year, preferably in the fall.
If a member of the household has a medical condition
where lack of utility service is life-threatening, the utility company cannot terminate
service at any time of the year to this household for nonpayment, but must pursue other
means to collect an overdue bill. Medical documentation must be provided to the utility
company to obtain this protection from a shut-off.
"Deliverable" fuel companies, such as oil and
propane dealers, can refuse to deliver at any time of year. In this situation, the
customer can usually switch to another company.
If the landlord is responsible for the utility bill and
doesn’t pay it, the utility company must give each tenant with a meter exclusively
for his/her apartment a chance to get service in his/her own name to avoid a shut-off. If
there is a meter that covers more than one apartment, then the tenants can choose to share
the bill, or they can refuse to share the bill and the utility company may not shut off
service. If the tenants take responsibility for the utility bill, they can reduce their
rental payment by an amount equal to what they pay for the utility service. The utility
company will provide the tenants with information on how to do this. Since reductions in
rental payments may lead to an attempt by a landlord to evict the tenant, tenants in this
situation should seek legal advice before reducing their monthly rent payment. A
tenant may not be required to pay the landlord's utility bill for the period before the
tenant agrees to put the bill in the tenant's name.
A utility company cannot turn off utility service at the
request of a landlord unless the dwelling is empty or the tenant agrees to have service
turned off. If the landlord is responsible for providing heat, hot or running water, or
electricity, then the landlord can be arrested for failing to provide the appropriate
service. If the landlord provides heat, it must be at least 65 degrees F. If the tenant
pays heating expenses, the heating system must be capable of providing heat at 65 degrees
F. First attempt to contact the landlord to arrange for appropriate services, and if
this is unsuccessful, consider pursuing an arrest by contacting the police and notifying
them that the landlord should be arrested under Connecticut General Statutes section 19a-109.
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Payment
Agreements on Debt to a Utility Company
All utility customers have a right to a reasonable
payment agreement to pay a debt to the utility company and avoid or remedy a shut-off. The
amount of each payment must cover at least the ongoing bills and something toward the old
debt, but energy assistance will reduce this amount if the household is eligible for such
help with the utility bill.
There is a specific procedure that should be followed if
the household is threatened with a utility shut-off because of an old utility bill:
1. Contact the utility and try to make an affordable
payment agreement. Whenever possible, make this contact before service has been shut off;
service cannot be shut off while this procedure is followed, so long as there are no
delays between steps. If service is off, it may be difficult to get it turned back on.
2. If unsuccessful making a payment agreement with the
utility representative, ask to speak to a "company review officer". If unable to
work out an affordable agreement with the review officer, ask for a written report.
3. Contact the Department of Public Utility
Control’s (DPUC) Customer Assistance office at 1-800-382-4586, and tell them this is
regarding an appeal of the refusal of the utility to enter into a reasonable payment
agreement. They may be able to work out an affordable payment agreement. If the household
cannot afford the agreement proposed, ask for a written report.
4. If the DPUC is unable to work out an affordable
payment agreement, a written request should be made for a hearing, addressed to: Executive
Secretary, DPUC, 10 Franklin Square, New Britain, CT 06051. A hearing will be scheduled at
which time the customer can explain to the hearing officer what the household can afford
to pay in a payment agreement.
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Arrearage
Forgiveness Programs
* Yankee Gas (YG), Southern Connecticut Gas (SCG),
Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG), Connecticut Light and Power (CL&P) and United
Illuminating (UI) are required by state law to have arrearage forgiveness programs for
their customers who receive energy assistance for their utility bill, with that company.
Application should be made with the utility company in
November or as soon as possible after this. An energy assistance application also
must be filed with the local Community Action Agency.
The utility company will set up a payment agreement that
depends on what the household can afford; unlike regular payment agreements, this amount
can be less than the actual bills if the household cannot afford to cover its full bill
each month. If all the customer’s payments due are received by the company by April
30th, then an additional amount equal to all the customer's payments plus the amount of
energy assistance received is applied to the customer’s debt (forgiving the
arrearage), effectively doubling the actual payments received by the company. If the
customer continues to make payments under the agreement and the company has received all
payment due by October 31st, then the company will also forgive an amount equal to these
payments. Note that the customer’s debt can be reduced to $0, but this program cannot
result in a credit balance.
* CL&P and UI have arrearage forgiveness programs
available to some of their low-income customers who are not eligible for the arrearage
forgiveness program described above. Since these programs are not required by state law,
the companies do not have to make the program available to everyone who is eligible.
CL&P’s program is called NUStart and UI’s program is called MaPP. An
electric customer with a debt can request that the electric company include them in these
programs.
If you are a customer of a municipal
utility company, contact that company to find out if it has an arrearage forgiveness
program.
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