Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Contact: Spence Jackson, 573-751-0290
Blunt Announces Plan to Help Ease Qualified Missourians’ Utility Burden
JEFFERSON CITY–Following federal officials’ recent decision to provide additional funds across the country to help fund the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Gov. Matt Blunt has announced plans to allocate the $30 million share directed to Missouri.
“We are grateful President Bush and the Congress are assisting states and providing these additional resources,” Blunt said. “Because we anticipated this need early in the year, I called for and the General Assembly funded the state’s energy assistance program, Utilicare.”
To date, about $3.2 million of the total $6 million in Utilicare funding has already been expended for winter heating and crisis benefits for qualifying families. The additional $30 million in LIHEAP funding will support the following:
| Supplemental Support for Qualifying Households with Head of Household over Age 65 or with a disability | $8 Million |
| Weatherization | $2 Million |
| Additional Winter Crisis Funding | $2.5 Million |
| Additional Summer Crisis Funding | $4.5 Million |
| Additional Winter Heating Funding '06 and '07 | $10 Million |
| Propane Lock-in for '07 Heating Season | $3 Million |
| Total | $30 Million |
“We are especially pleased to be able to assist some of our most vulnerable citizens with their bills from this winter, provide assistance for crisis cooling needs this summer and to plan ahead for next winter,” Blunt said.
To qualify for energy assistance, families must have incomes under 125 percent of the federal poverty level or $20,112 for a family of three. LIHEAP is administered through local community action agencies throughout the state. Information on local community action agencies can be found at http://www.communityaction.org/CAAServiceAreas.htm.
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