{"id":209663,"date":"2020-10-06T09:38:44","date_gmt":"2020-10-06T14:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=209663"},"modified":"2020-10-06T09:38:44","modified_gmt":"2020-10-06T14:38:44","slug":"pandemic-liheap-program-helps-pay-electric-utility-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=209663","title":{"rendered":"Pandemic LIHEAP program, helps pay electric utility bills"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bismarck\u00a0 (CSi)\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0About half of the Americans living in households that experienced a job loss or reduced income due to the\u00a0COVID-19\u00a0pandemic report falling behind on their household bills. A third say they have had problems paying utility bills, according to a tracking poll by Kaiser Family Foundation.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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To\u00a0reduce financial stress among\u00a0low-income\u00a0state residents, the\u00a0North Dakota\u00a0Department of Human Services\u00a0today\u00a0announced a\u00a0temporary\u00a0Pandemic\u00a0Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program\u00a0(P-LIHEAP)\u00a0<\/span>that will provide one-time\u00a0help with the cost of\u00a0electric utility\u00a0bills\u00a0for\u00a0qualifying\u00a0households.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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To qualify\u00a0for the\u00a0one-time $460 payment, a household must have participated in the state\u2019s\u00a0regular\u00a0heating assistance\u00a0program\u00a0through\u00a0<\/span>the 2019-2020 heating season, which\u00a0ended\u00a0Sept.\u00a030, 2020.\u00a0Renters whose electricity utility costs\u00a0were\u00a0included in their rent do not qualify.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe\u00a0one-time payment will be paid directly to program participants\u2019\u00a0electric\u00a0utility\u00a0providers,\u201d explained Michele Gee, the director of the department\u2019s Economic Assistance Division. \u201cThe payment can be used for past-due electric utility bills\u00a0or\u00a0applied toward electric utility costs during this pandemic.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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An estimated 12,400\u00a0North Dakota households could benefit from the program, which is funded by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Registering\u00a0for One-Time Electric Utility Help<\/span><\/b><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The department is mailing a notice to households\u00a0that may qualify, which\u00a0informs\u00a0them\u00a0how\u00a0to\u00a0register.\u00a0The registration deadline for households who receive the notice is Oct.\u00a031, 2020,\u00a0so households must act quickly.<\/b>\u00a0Individuals who\u00a0need assistance with\u00a0the registration\u00a0should contact the department\u2019s Economic Assistance Program at 701-328-3513, 711 (TTY)\u00a0or\u00a0<\/span><\/span>dhseap@nd.gov<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Help Available for\u00a0Upcoming Heating Season<\/span><\/b><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Households\u00a0concerned about upcoming winter heating costs can apply for\u00a0the state\u2019s\u00a0regular\u00a0heating assistance program beginning October\u00a02020 at their local human service zone office (formerly known as county social service office). Contact information is online at\u00a0<\/span><\/span>www.nd.gov\/dhs\/locations\/countysocialserv<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bismarck\u00a0 (CSi)\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0About half of the Americans living in households that experienced a job loss or reduced income due to the\u00a0COVID-19\u00a0pandemic report falling behind on their household bills. A third say they have had problems paying utility bills, according to a tracking poll by Kaiser Family Foundation.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 To\u00a0reduce financial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":78174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=209663"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":209664,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209663\/revisions\/209664"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/78174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=209663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=209663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=209663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}