La. receives $91M for utility bill pay assistance
24th January 2022 · 0 Comments
By Ryan Whirty
Contributing Writer
On Jan. 7, the White House announced that Louisiana received a record $91.7 million in funding to help state residents, especially those in low-income households, struggling to stay above water financially pay their energy bills.
The funding was allocated through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and much of the increased allotment will come from the massive federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9-trillion measure aimed at jump-starting a United States economy crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic and providing a financial life raft to American citizens and families.
According to a White House press release, more than $41 million of the historic LIHEAP amount has been provided by the ARPA, with the rest of it – roughly $50 million – constituting the state’s annual regular allotment for LIHEAP.
In addition to continuing federal efforts to alleviate the negative economic impact of the COVID pandemic, the additional LIHEAP money comes in the dead of winter, when citizens face increased heating and utility bills every year. Louisiana Congressman Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, said the boost in LIHEAP funds arrives at a crucial time.
“As hardworking Louisianians continue recovering from the pandemic and recent storms, this investment is helping families afford energy costs and stay warm, safe and healthy this winter,” Carter said in a statement.
At-large City Councilman JP Morrell said the increased federal assistance will be a great help to local residents at a crucial time.
“I’m excited by the prospect of working with the Biden administration and local stakeholders to help our neighbors lower their utility bills,” said Morrell, who serves as the chairman of the Council’s Utility, Cable, Telecommunications and Technology Committee. “I also look forward to working with Governor Edwards and Congressman Carter to utilize American Rescue Plan resources to provide more reliable, renewable and resilient energy resources.”
Liz Brister, Entergy’s manager for Low Income Customer Initiatives, said the company that provides almost all of the New Orleans area with power is eager to help struggling citizens when it can. She noted that according to a Louisiana Association of United Ways report, more than half of Louisiana families were already struggling to make ends meet even prior to the onset of the pandemic. Brister said that LIHEAP remains a vital tool to help such struggling families, making Entergy’s involvement practically a given.
“That’s why helping to ensure that low-income families receive LIHEAP has been a major focus of Entergy’s Low-Income Customer Initiative for more than 20 years,” she said, noting that the company’s programs to help families receive LIHEAP assistance were recognized last year by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with the Citizens Award for Best Economic Opportunity and Empowerment program nationwide.
Brister added that for the last 20-plus years, the company has strived to help the people who make up the company’s customers.
“Poverty reduction has been a key priority for Entergy since 2000, when the company created its Low-Income Customer Initiative,” she said. “Entergy also has been a leader in LIHEAP advocacy at the federal level and formed strong partnerships with state and local agencies to combat the root causes of poverty. We thank our congressional delegations and federal partners for their continued support of important poverty relief solutions like LIHEAP that help keep our most vulnerable customers safe.”
City officials say they’ve consistently recognized how vital the LIHEAP program is to thousands of people in the Greater New Orleans area and have fought for increased funding to the program locally as a result.
In an April 1, 2020, New Orleans community leaders sent a letter to several federal officials – including Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, then-Secretary of the Treasury Department Steve Mnuchin, and then-Secretary of the Health & Human Services Department Alex Azar – to plead for additional funding for LIHEAP at a time when the devastating economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to be felt.
The letter – which was signed by New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno, Entergy New Orleans President and CEO David D. Ellis, Alliance for Affordable Entergy Executive Director Logan Atkinson-Burke and HousingNOLA Executive Director Andreanecia M. Morris – noted that despite recent incremental funding increases, the LIHEAP fund still lagged behind those of other such programs in the Gulf Coast area.
They wrote that the region’s crucial tourism and hospitality industries were already suffering from the onset of the pandemic, with thousands of local citizens hit hard in their finances.
“Before the onset of the pandemic,” the letter stated, “Louisiana, particularly the greater New Orleans area, maintained one of the highest levels of economic insecurity in the country. This financial uncertainty directly translates to the inability of the average New Orleanian to afford their utility bills. …Power is of course an indispensable need in our city. As the temperatures continue to rise into our typically hot summer, the newly jobless will face additional harm if they cannot afford basic services to maintain their health and safety.”
This week, Moreno told The Louisiana Weekly that she has worked hard to make sure that local residents are connected with the financial assistance they desperately need.
“New Orleanians face the second-greatest energy security burden in the nation,” she said. “I’ve been incredibly supportive and thankful for the Federal support through LIHEAP for our ratepayers which has helped keep some of our most vulnerable folks in our community powered up during these pandemic times.”
Other members of the New Orleans City Council said the additional LIHEAP funds will greatly enhance the amount and quality of assistance that the government can provide locally.
“I am certainly pleased that the federal government recognizes the need to support those people whose circumstances present them with challenges in paying the cost of utilities,” District D City Councilman Eugene Green said. “For a variety of reasons, including the results of natural disasters, the cost of utilities has increased over a relatively short period of time.
“It is important that government view[s] the assistance that it is now providing as a down payment and investment in the long-term support that many of our fellow citizens need in order to maintain a safe environment through the payment of utility bills.”
In Louisiana, LIHEAP funds are administered by the Louisiana Housing Corporation and its Energy Assistance Department. Information on the state’s LIHEAP process can be found at www.lhc.la.gov/energy-assistance or by calling (225) 763-8700.
The LHC works in conjunction with local provider agencies, which is where citizens hoping to receive LIHEAP must apply.
In New Orleans, the LHC works with the Total Community Action Agency, which can be reached at (504) 882-7181, (504) 872-0331 or (504) 875-2652, or by visiting www.tca-nola.org/services-2/energy-services, which details qualification standards and application requirements for LIHEAP in Orleans Parish.
Thelma Harris French, president and CEO of Total Community Action, said individual households applying for assistance paying their bills and meeting the qualification criteria receive an amount of funds that varies in relation to the households amount of energy usage; the more energy homes consume, the more LIHEAP assistance they could potentially receive. If help is approved for a household, the money is applied directing to their Entergy billing account.
As far as the $41 million-plus in funding provided to the area from the American Rescue Plan that was passed last, that funding has already been received by TCA and dispersed to households throughout the city, French said.
However, say TCA representatives, applications can be filed at any time because the disbursement of energy assistance is continual. The maximum amount an individual home can receive via the money funded by the ARPA is $1,200.
In Jefferson Parish, interested residents should contact Jefferson Community Action Programs at (504) 736-6900 or (504) 736-6321. St. Tammany Parish residents can call St. Tammany Parish Community Action Agency at (985) 646-2090, while St. Bernard Parish residents should call the parish government offices at (504) 278-4468. In Plaquemines Parish, LIHEAP is handled by the Plaquemines Parish Community Action Agency at (504) 934-6940.
This article originally published in the January 24, 2022 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
