Heating Help
Aid available to relieve winter energy bills

By Philip Moulden
Northeastern Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo, MS)
October 13, 2002

Baby, it's cold outside.

Well, not yet. But it will be. And energy forecasters are predicting increases in heating costs over the winter, with fossil fuels leading the way.

The Campaign for Energy Assistance cites expected hikes of 21 percent in propane costs and 17 percent in natural gas prices this winter. The Tennessee Valley Authority, which provides most electric power in Northeast Mississippi, has promised to hold the line on prices as have most of its distributors.

"It's normal for gas prices to go up in the winter 10 to 20 percent," Mississippi Valley Gas Co. Tupelo manager Johnnie Butler said. "That's what it's supposed to do just because there's more demand."

But the clouds of war with Iraq could dramatically change the energy pricing landscape, and if the war should spread elsewhere in the Middle East, any semblance of accurate price prognostication would vanish.

Help on hand
In any case, help is available for area residents, primarily in preparation but also for meeting dire or unforeseen financial circumstances.

Local electricity and natural gas distributors offer various programs to advise residents- and in some cases businesses and industries - on energy-saving steps around the house.

Several agencies, including the community action agency LIFT Inc. and Tupelo's Water and Light Department, can provide some monetary assistance with heating bills for low-income households or people caught in unexpected financial binds.

Mississippi Valley's Butler said his firm provides no direct financial aid to strapped customers, but works very closely with LIFT, which oversees the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program in an eight-county region.

Natural gas bills come in two parts, wholesale costs and distribution costs, Butler said. Mississippi Valley Gas has no control over wholesale costs, but does all it can to keep distribution costs low, he said.

"We refer customers (to LIFT) and work with customers to pay their bills," Butler said. "We do have a lot of information available on how to help insulate your home and how to lower your energy costs."

Electric partners
Tupelo Water and Light residential electric users can contact the city department to arrange TVA energy audits, a detailed assessment of a dwelling's conservation weaknesses and a check on efficiency of electric appliances such as water heaters and heating and cooling units.

"We make recommendations. We have a list of qualified contractors that can work with them to put in heating and cooling units, for instance," TVA energy services technician Lee Wayne Neely said.

"If they've got a problem, most of the time we can find it," Neely added. "Much of the time, it's not a physical problem, it's an education problem."

"A lot of items do not cost very much money," Water and Light manager Johnny Timmons said of residential energy improvements. "A lot of things they can do themselves, like weatherproofing windows and doors."

One enticing segment of the Tupelo/TVA program is a $120 subsidy on the purchase of a new electric water heater. Aid also could be available toward the purchase of a new heat pump.
"We're doing a lot of hot water heaters now, but the heat pump program is kind of slow," Water and Light customer service manager Lynn Fair said.

New home builders might also qualify for up to $600 in rebates from TW&L/TVA for adhering to energy efficient building practices. "We try to get them to build in energy efficiency on the front end," Neely said.

Tombigbee too
The Tombigbee Electric Power Association offers some of the same TVA help to its residential customers as well as its own staff aid in finding energy solutions.

Tupelo Water and Light, Tombigbee Electric and Mississippi Valley Gas also provide a wealth of written literature - much of it produced by TVA - to help customers cut energy consumption.
Residents should check with their energy distributors to determine if they qualify for various assistance before making major commitments.

Customers may also opt for alternative billing plans offered by many distributors - basically rolling averages of month-to-month use - that provide for somewhat higher payments in non-peak months but lower payments when energy use is highest. Money outlays won't be less over the year, but winter bills could be less of a shock under the plans.

"We try to do a lot of education," said Bill Long, Tombigbee EPA's manager. "We have our staff work with them if a customer feels his bill is too high to help them identify any problem."
All sources pointed to thermostat control as a major potential savings step. Heating a home from 30 degrees outside to 75 degrees inside costs a lot more than heating it to 65 degrees or even 68 degrees, they noted.

"People could wear sweaters inside. People do need to try to adjust," Butler noted.

Financial help
Those needing financial aid shouldn't wait until the last minute to seek it, LIFT director Linda Blackwell said. Although the agency can quickly determine whether someone qualifies, it can take a month to get the paperwork through channels in Jackson.

LIFT also tries to provide case management services to those needing aid to help them better manage finances, or find work, or solve their problems in other ways.

"There's not a limit (on aid)," Blackwell said. "It depends on how we place them in case management. Some (who won't cooperate) will not get assistance."

But funds are short.

According to the Campaign for Home Energy Assistance, President Bush has proposed a base budget of $1.4 million for energy assistance - about $300 million less than a Senate committee recommended - plus $300 million for emergency situations.

Of the $300 million in funds now available, Bush has freed only $100 million for drought states, and Mississippi wasn't among them, Blackwell said.

"Our energy funding has not been released, and we need it," she said. "We're going to be out of money before the end of the year."

We care
Tupelo Water and Light also operates a program called "Tupelo Cares," a fund built on voluntary contributions of customers that is used to aid people facing energy bill woes.

"Some people donate as little as $1 a month, some as much as $5 a month to help a needy person that qualifies," Fair said of the 500 or so customers who participate in the program.

The elderly, disabled, the poor or people who face financial stress because of job layoffs or illness would be among those who could qualify for help. A household could get as much as $150 in assistance on an electric bill, but that aid would come only once in any 12-month period, Fair said.

For those who qualify, the state Department of Human Services can also be a source of help, officials said.

"Churches do a lot too, they really do," Timmons added.