As the weather turns colder, we all
push up the thermostat to heat our
homes.
Families who need financial help to
pay their utility bills may have
to wait because of the government
shutdown, despite it being over.
Last year, nearly 190,000
Wisconsin households received nearly
$137 million in
assistance, an average of about
$315 per household.
The Wisconsin Energy
Assistance Program receives both
state and federal funding.
Now the state funding is secure,
but the federal funds aren't
expected to be released until
December or January.
Here with more information on this,
we are joined by Assistant Deputy
Secretary Diana Moss from the
Wisconsin Department of
Administration.
And thanks very much for being here.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
So did the CR bill that ended
the shutdown fully fund
the low income home energy
assistance program?
Not yet.
It reopened the government, which is
great.
And now, as we understand it,
our Lie Heap folks in the federal
government can get to work in
trying to calculate what the
allocations will be to each state.
And that's what we expect is
still going to take some time.
And so how much delayed
is this from a usual
year when states would get that
allocation?
Yeah, at this point, you know, I
would say we're
predicting a month or
more delayed from a typical year.
It's typical that we don't yet have
our dollars at the beginning of the
heating season, but we would
normally know our award allocation,
and we don t yet know that.
And so part of that is because of
the federal government shutdown, but
now that the government is open
again, we expect they're going to
take a few weeks too.
And how will it affect the
people who are trying to apply
for that kind of assistance?
Will that also be delayed to them?
So they absolutely should apply now.
They should continue applying.
Applications are open, and our
providers are taking
those applications and available to
assist in that way.
So they can find out if they're
eligible or ineligible,
and that helps us so
that once we receive the dollars,
we're able to administer those
benefits.
But the good news is, folks should
continue to apply throughout the
season, because if they are
ineligible today,
but a circumstance changes, we
will continue to recalculate that
eligibility throughout the season.
And the eligibility is based on
income, I trust?
That's right.
So does Governor Evers' emergency
order this week relating to housing
or an energy crisis
relate to this?
You know, it's supplemental support
to help those folks in need.
We know that these assistance
programs support and serve
the same communities that LIHEAP
continues to serve in the
state.
So if President Trump, I
understand that President Trump
laid off the entire staff
that administers this LIHEAP,
this federal assistance
program for energy,
how do you suspect that will affect
payments to states?
Yeah, it may continue to factor
into the delay.
It's, you know, we can assume with
less folks dedicated to working
in this space, it might take longer
to do the work.
So that's, again, I think another
factor that we anticipate will
contribute to the delay, so
what.
What happens when
the federal funding
continuing resolution expires
on January 30, should the
energy assistance funds already have
been made available?
We anticipate so.
Yeah, if they
were not, you know,
we're having a different conversation.
The good news is state law in
Wisconsin prohibits disconnection
between November 1 and April 15.
So we know that folks will be safe
in terms of their heat.
You know, utility companies won't be
turning off their heat, but we will
absolutely have to figure out the
funding if we got to a
future date where those
dollars weren't yet administered.
How do people apply?
Yeah, they need to go to
energybenefit.wi.gov
and that will give them all
the information about where to find
their local provider.
And they have options to apply by
phone, in person,
mail, or right online.
So should people expect the same
amount of assistance this
year as they got last year?
We don't yet know because we don't
have our dollar amount
for program year 26.
We anticipate it will be very
similar to last year, but
we don't know until we get the
award.
The way it works is that if you
apply for assistance you are
eligible and you are given
assistance.
That goes directly to your
utility or to yourself.
No, it goes directly to the utility
provider on their behalf.
And then we also, the same program
supports, if their furnace
goes out and it's a crisis
situation, we would then support
repair or replacement of that
furnace.
But typically, the most
part of these benefits go directly
to utility company.
Well, we hope to keep people warm.
Diana Moss, Wisconsin Department of
Administration, thanks very much.
Thank you.
I didn't take a breath,
so I can get the word administration
out.
But thank you.
Thank you.
I hope people can
stay warm.
And it's different, isn't it, for
people who have, like, propane.
So it is, but
we absolutely work with providers
to make sure that their tanks
don't run empty.
And so, because it's different
suppliers, it doesn't go to a
utility.
Right.
Interesting.
All right, well thank you.
Thank you so much.