Here we go again: Colorado is scrambling to keep its lower-income residents warm as heating costs spiral upward during the first prolonged cold spell of the season. That shouldn’t be.
Last year, Colorado’s Low-income Energy Assistance Program helped about 96,000 households. So far this year, approved applications are up about 14 percent, according to Glenn Cooper, LEAP manager with the Colorado Department of Human Services. Based on projections of heating-cost increases of 30 percent to 50 percent, the total this season could reach 110,000 households.
At that rate, the $10 million in additional state assistance Gov. Bill Owens has requested for 2006 won’t go very far. Nationally, federal low-income heating aid is likely to be unchanged from last year, at $2 billion. Given higher prices for gas and other fuels, it’s effectively a funding cut.
Colorado got about $30 million from the feds last year, plus another $3.15 million from the privately funded Energy Outreach Colorado (www.ceaf.org). “Donations are pretty much even with last year – so far,” said Skip Arnold, executive director of Energy Outreach. But demand is much greater, with grants up about 40 percent over last year. Even a conservative 5 percent increase in giving could result in a $21 million shortfall, according to Arnold.
Meanwhile, Xcel Energy, which pledged $5.4 million to help low-income Coloradans pay higher home-heating bills and agreed to a 60-day no-shut-off grace period during winter, had good news and bad news for consumers. Last week, it filed with the Colorado Public Utilities to collect $162 million less than planned from electricity customers in 2006. But its request for a $34 million natural-gas rate hike filed last spring came up for hearing before the PUC yesterday.
Colorado is one of a few states with no mandatory program to help the poor pay heating bills. It may be time to consider a steady revenue stream to provide such a cushion.
