By Tim Logan 
State House News Service 

AUG. 19, 1999--As a long, hot summer winds down, low-income state residents will get a break on their electric bills.  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is giving the state $7.7 million in emergency "cooling relief" funding. 

Under the program, eligible residents will receive a one-time credit of 
either $75 or $25 to help pay electric bills.  The funding will help 
low-income families, said John Wells, energy director at Action for Boston 
Community Development (ABCD). ABCD helps 14,000 Boston-area households pay utility bills and is one of 22 agencies that will receive a portion of the funding. 

"For our clients, electricity is a very large burden when the heat goes 
up," Wells said. "This benefit helps them a lot, especially in this time of 
rising rent costs.  In Roxbury and Dorchester, many of our clients are 
paying rents they've never seen before. $75 will go a long way." 

The credits are part of a $100 million package that the US Department of 
Health and Human Services released to 17 states on July 12.  It was in 
response to unusually high temperatures in June and July that caused 
increased fan and air conditioner usage and, higher energy costs. 

The heat was blamed for dozens of deaths nationally, including those of two 
Boston-area nursing home residents on July 5.  US Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala said she hoped the program would prevent future heat-related deaths this summer. 

"The effects of severe heat are devastating, especially for our most 
vulnerable low-income families - children, senior citizens and persons with 
disabilities," Shalala said in a statement. "This critical aid will provide 
relief and support for the remaining hot months this summer." 

While the emergency aid was released in July, participants will not likely 
receive the benefits until September.  However, that is also when they'll 
receive their heating bills from the summer. 

"It's a good system," Wells said, noting that ABCD will help its clients 
bridge the gap by paying some of the bills that arrive before the credits do. 

The state's Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will administer the funds through its Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).  DHCD distributes funds to 22 local fuel assistance agencies throughout the Commonwealth, which then pass on the benefits to households in their geographic areas. 

To be eligible, a family of four must have an annual income under $24,676. 
For individuals, the maximum income is $12,075. The 101,000 Massachusetts residents enrolled in LIHEAP will be eligible for the credit and any qualified people who are not enrolled can sign up now and receive the emergency credits, said Eric Gedstad, DHCD communications director. 

The focus of LIHEAP has been on helping low-income residents through the winter months, when heating costs can balloon, though this is not the first
time money has gone for cooling aid. 

"Essentially it's there to help buffer the increase in cash flow during the 
winter months. For those on fixed incomes, that can be a real problem," 
Wells said.  "But in recent years we've seen some unusual heat waves." 

The only other time Massachusetts has received emergency funding for heat 
relief was in 1995, when the state got approximately $1 million.  Officials 
targeted that aid to the elderly, people with special needs and families 
with children under three, according to Gedstad. There will be no such 
targeting this time, he said, because there is more money to go around. 

Massachusetts received $7.8 million, more than all but four other states. 
New York, which had blackouts in Manhattan and more than 25 heat-related deaths, received the most - $28.5 million. 
 

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