Pennsylvania provides several forms of assistance to its residents who are behind in their utility bills. Most of the help is available through the state's various utility companies. To receive the help, people generally must have low incomes or dependent children living with them. Senior citizens and disabled persons are also generally given priority to receive the help.
Pennsylvania Power and Light
Pennsylvania Power and Light sponsors the On Track fund. Money for the program comes from donations made by the company's customers and employees. Through the On Track program, Pennsylvania Power and Light customers can receive one-time grants to pay off a portion or all of their past-due utility bills or they can get late bills reduced. The amount of assistance provided is based on the funds available in the program and the gross incomes that applicants receive.
Philadelphia Gas Works
Philadelphia Gas Works administers the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Utility Emergency Services Fund (UESF) programs. The maximum amount of the UESF grant is $1,500 as of 2011. The highest gross income applicants can have to receive the help is 175 percent of the federal poverty level. Residents also must apply for LIHEAP grants before they apply for a UESF grant. LIHEAP grants are federally funded. Grants range from $300 to $1,000. Applications are accepted from November through April. It can take up to six weeks to receive money from the program.
Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO)
People who get their utilities through the Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO) can receive about $200 in one-time grant assistance through PECO's Matching Energy Assistance Fund (MEAF). The help is provided to residents whose incomes do not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level. However, the majority of people helped through MEAF have incomes at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level. The program is paid for with donations from PECO customers and the company itself.
Adams Electric Cooperative
Through the Adams Electric Cooperative's Project Helping Hand program Pennsylvania residents can get grant money to pay their utility bills. The grants are not renewable; money from the grants is paid directly to utility companies. Before applying for the help, residents must pay at least 25 percent of their past-due bills. They also must have received a shutoff notice. Additionally, people living in Pennsylvania also can receive help to pay their utility bills through the Central Electric Cooperative. Counties supported by the cooperative are Allegheny, Armstrong, Clarion, Butler, Venango and Forest.
Water Company
Water companies like the Pennsylvania American Water give their customers help through the Dollar Energy Fund. People who live in Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery and Northumberland counties also can get help to pay their water bills through the A Helping Hand program. Other water bill assistance is provided through companies like United Water. As with other assistance programs, the help is not renewable. In other words, water companies do not pay residents' utility bills month-to-month.
Tags: utility bills, receive help, Electric Cooperative, federal poverty, federal poverty level, Pennsylvania Power, Pennsylvania Power Light
