Have you ever failed to claim a deposit you placed on anything, like an apartment or rental equipment? Nope. Me neither. But, as much as I don’t understand it, apparently it does happen.
On average, we receive $21,000 in unclaimed account deposits each year. (Account deposits are usually typically required for commercial accounts.) Thanks to our efforts to clarify a state statute, we’re now able to keep those funds and will add them to our Project COPE (Citizen’s Option to Provide Energy) customer assistance program.
Background
State legislation mandated utilities submit unclaimed deposits – after two years – to Energy Outreach Colorado. They, in turn, transfer the money to the Colorado Department of Human Services to support the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP).
The statute allowed municipally owned utilities and rural cooperatives to certify their own assistance programs. However, only rural cooperatives were exempt from remitting their unclaimed deposits. Our efforts during this legislative session clarified the language and now allows municipally owned utilities the choice to participate as well.
Keeping money local
The clarification means we’re able to keep the money from our unclaimed deposits for Project COPE to help customers in our community. Project COPE provides utilities payment assistance – one time per year – to families and individuals bridge from emergency situations to stability. Last year, in partnership with nine community non-profits, Project COPE helped more than 2,400 customers with approximately $1.7 million in assistance.
The state’s LEAP assistance program receives $44 million from a federal grant (LIHEAP), $1 million from unclaimed deposits and $3.25 million in severance tax revenue. Project COPE is funded through contributions from customers with Colorado Springs Utilities matching donations dollar-for-dollar up to $500,000 annually. We also cover 100% of the administrative costs.
Project COPE eligibility
There is no income requirement to receive Project COPE funding, but customers must:
- Have a past due bill.
- Apply for LEAP before receiving COPE assistance. Customers can receive assistance from both programs if they qualify.
If you would like to donate to Project COPE or need assistance, visit projectcopecs.org.
