Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News
CUMBERLAND — Energy assistance agencies in Allegany and Garrett counties say more residents are struggling to pay their bills as temperatures drop, heating costs rise and the economic recession drags on.
Linda Green, director of the Garrett County Department of Community and Emergency Services, said she ran a report Wednesday on the number of applications for energy assistance filed in her office since July 1 and compared it to the same time period last year.
This year, they’ve had 2,869 applications — 139 more than last year, she said. But that isn’t the only noticeable change.
“We're seeing more people come in who have never come to Community Action before,” Green said. “Most of them are people who are now unemployed. We've also seen a few more seniors, but basically it's the unemployed.”
Allegany County’s energy assistance program through the Human Resources Development Commission has seen an increase of about 100 applications per month over last year, according to Director Jenetta Hampton.
That’s not a drastic change, considering that the office typically handles several thousand applications each year and approves between 4,000 and 5,000 annually, Hampton said. But she also noticed a difference in early demand for the applications.
“It seemed like everyone wanted to apply earlier,” she said. “Normally, we tend to see an influx of applications around October when it starts to get cold, but people seem more anxious to get their heating grants this year.”
Todd Meyers, spokesman for Allegheny Power, said statewide, the company has seen a significant increase in the number of people enrolled in its Electric Universal Service Program. That program is designed to help people pay past due bills and handle upcoming bills.
Between July 1 and Dec. 31, 9,037 Marylanders were in the program, Meyers said. That’s compared to 7,400 one year before.
Hampton said the people who need help are not only those on fixed incomes, such as the elderly or disabled, but also a large number of families struggling to make ends meet.
“In most of those cases, both parents are working,” Hampton said. “But they might be in part-time or minimum-wage jobs, and they need a little additional help.”
Green said her office operates a program provided by Allegheny Power called the Community Energy Fund. In that program, the utility’s customers can donate money the company will match to create a fund to help people whose inability to pay bills leads to energy emergencies.
“In the past, we’ve seen maybe three or four emergency calls per day,” she said. “But this year people just cannot keep up with their payments. We’ve had up to eight calls in a day.”
And donations to the program have been decreasing even as the need rises, she added.
“Allegheny Power customers who may typically donate $50 every year, this year may donate $30,” Green said.
Both Green and Hampton said the most important thing is for people to request help before they find themselves in an emergency situation.
“I just want to encourage people, if they see that they're falling behind, to come in before they fall so far behind,” Green said.
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