At the March 17 Utilities Board meeting, we recommended a temporary increase to our electric cost adjustment (referred to as the ECA) to cover the fuel costs required to generate electricity for our community during a record-breaking winter storm in February. Last week, we implemented changes to the gas cost adjustment (or GCA) - this is the cost of natural gas that we transport from suppliers directly to homes and businesses for things like heating and cooking.
We understand that the increases in fuel rates along with the economic impacts of the pandemic are creating hardship for many households and businesses. Help is available - we have many options to ensure we keep our customers with connected services.
First, we will not be disconnecting services for customers who are unable to pay their utility bill. Our additional programs include:
- Project COPE provides utilities payment assistance to families and individuals struggling financially due to personal crisis or emergency, regardless of income. In 2020, nearly 1,200 households received $533,381 in assistance. In 2021, Project COPE has helped 34 households with $16,358 in assistance.
- Energy Outreach Colorado provides bill payment assistance to households across Colorado to help those who can’t afford their home energy costs. From July 2020 to February 2021, nearly 1,900 households received $1.5 million in assistance.
- Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP) is a federally-funded program to help with home heating costs. The application is available Nov. 1 to April 30. In the 2020 season (Nov. 1, 2019 to July 31, 2020), $6.1 million was distributed to customers. So far in the 2021 season (Nov. 1, 2020 to Feb. 25, 2021), $1.8 million was distributed to customers. In total, this assisted 8,118 households.
- Payment Plans provide a one-time extension for utilities bills. In 2020, we created extensions for 34,635 customers totaling $10 million.
- Payment Arrangements help customers better manage their past-due balances with installment plans. Customers can avoid service disconnection by paying off their balance over a period of time. In August 2020, we proactively enrolled 12,626 customers in payment arrangements totaling $7.4 million prior to resuming collection operations. Currently, we have 6,015 active payment arrangements on balances totaling $3.6 million.
- Extended Due Dates: In February 2021, we extended the payment due date for residential and business customers from 14 days to 30 days to allow additional time for customers to pay their bills.
- Home Efficiency Assistance Program (HEAP) is a partnership with the Energy Resource Center for qualified homeowners to receive free energy and water efficiency upgrades to help lower their bills permanently. Upgrade services include insulation, LED bulbs and high-efficiency items like showerheads, refrigerators and toilets. Customers may also receive furnace and water heater repair or replacement.
- United Way 2-1-1 provides additional resources for things such as rental assistance, medical assistance or mental health services as needed. We encourage customers to contact United Way 2-1-1 for information about additional assistance options.
Business Customers
We do not directly provide payment assistance programs for business customers, however, we do offer payment plans and payment arrangements. In addition, there are local programs in the community available to businesses through the CARES Act.
We are working on other means of assistance for our business customers that we will share with you in the upcoming months.
