COULD BE A COLD WINTER FOR MANY

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Nov 23, 2007 | by BILL McKEOWN

With winter approaching, Coloradans who struggle to pay their heating bills face a possible drastic cut in aid.

That's the word from Skip Arnold, executive director of Energy Outreach Colorado, a Denver-based nonprofit that provides energy assistance to more than 115,000 households in Colorado.

Congress has yet to approve funding for the federal Low Income Energy Assistance Program, or LEAP, which last year distributed about $2 billion to states to help pay utility bills for low-income households.

Arnold said money for this winter's program may not be approved until just before Christmas -- and it could be substantially less than last year. Congress has recommend- ed essentially the same amount of funding for the coming winter as last year, with a slightly higher $500 million emergency fund that could be spent at the discretion of the president.

He said President Bush has indicated he will veto funding for the program unless Congress cuts that request by 25 percent. That would reduce Colorado's share of funding from $31 million to $23 million, Arnold said.

Lobbyists for nonprofit organizations such as Outreach Colorado are reporting there are not enough votes in the House to override a presidential veto, Arnold said.

He said even if Congress is able to appropriate the same amount of money as last year, recipients of LEAP funds -- who must have an income within 185 percent of federal poverty limits -- would receive less this coming year. He estimated average LEAP payments to Coloradans would drop from $370 a household to $317, simply because more people seek LEAP aid each year.

To cover a drop in aid, Outreach Colorado will distribute $7.8 million to help Coloradans pay their utility bills, up from $6.15 million last year.

Outreach Colorado will distribute about $2.15 million of that to LEAP programs in the state to help lower the average utility payment. The remainder will be given to a network of nonprofit agencies across the state, including in the Springs area. Unlike LEAP, those funds are available to folks who don't meet federal poverty guidelines but who have a current utility bill due that they cannot pay. The nonprofit simply asks that people apply for LEAP funds first, so it can stretch its funding further.

Those local agencies also distribute funds raised by Colorado Springs Utilities Project COPE, Citizens Option to Provide Energy.

Denise Sulski, the utility's community liaison, said about 2,500 customers give monthly contributions through their utility bills, raising about $200,000 a year. That amount grows with one-time contributions from customers, matching money from the utility, corporate campaigns and grants.

From January to Oct. 15, Project COPE raised $624,000. All of that money was distributed to local care agencies, who in turn helped 3,012 households in need of energy help.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0197 or bill.mckeown@gazette.com

HOW TO HELP

To make a donation to Outreach Colorado to help fellow residents struggling with their utility bills, visit www.energyoutreach.org.

TO GET HELP

If you need help paying your energy bills, call Colorado's Low Income Energy Assistance Program at 1-866-432-8435. To get in touch with local agencies that help people struggling with their utility bills, call the United Way's help line, 211.