With the June 7 roll-out of a new program, Texas Utility Help, from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, assistance is now available on a statewide basis for eligible low-income homeowners and renters having a tough time paying their utility bills.
The program is distributing federal funding from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and Low Income Household Water Assistance Program.
Renters and homeowners with household income at or below 150 percent of Federal Poverty Income Guidelines and who meet other eligibility criteria can submit an application for Texas Utility Help. Maximum household income depends on the number of people living in the household, according to TDHCA. Complete details about eligibility can be found at TexasUtilityHelp.com.
TDHCA Bobby Wilkinson said launching the program at the state level allows more state residents to access the program and benefit from it.
“The new program uses a streamlined online application process, so any eligible Texas household can apply for both energy and water bill assistance in a single form,” he said.
Qualified applicants can receive assistance for their total past due amounts for electricity, natural gas and propane, plus up to $2,400 in prospective payments. For water and wastewater assistance, qualified applicants can pay off their total past due payments and up to $600 in prospective payments. All payments are issued directly to the utility company on behalf of the applicant.
The program has more than $50 million in assistance ready to go out to eligible homeowners and renters, according to TDHCA, which recommends that applicants apply as soon as possible before the funds run out.
The program comes at a particularly good time for Texas ratepayers bearing the brunt of soaring energy costs and higher utility bills due to the impact of the pandemic and subsequent economic shutdown on the energy industry, plus economic fallout from the devastating February 2021 winter storm that paralyzed the state, and exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to some estimates, residential utility customers in the state’s competitive markets are paying an average of 70 percent more for electricity now compared to one year ago. Customers in non-competitive, regulated markets — such as Brownsville Public Utilities Board customers — are feeling the pinch as well.
BPUB announced in May that its customers would see higher electric bills starting June 1 as the utility’s rate-subsidy program is phased out and the cost of natural gas, which many power plants use for fuel, has skyrocketed. John Bruciak, BPUB general manager and CEO, noted in May that natural gas prices were nearly $9 per Metric Million British Thermal Unit, up from less than $2 per MMBtu before the 2021 freeze.
“What’s going to compound the issue is it’s going up significantly at a time of the year when people use more (electricity),” he said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has only increased the upward pressure on energy prices. While the price of natural gas has come down from 13-year highs in May/June, prices are ticking up again, with natural gas at nearly $6.25 per MMBtu as of Thursday afternoon.
The fact that Texas Utility Help is rolling out now, when energy bills are so high, is a lucky coincidence, related to when TDHCA received federal utility-assistance money through the American Rescue Plan Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law last year.
“As a normal course of business, TDHCA provides utility assistance annually through its network of local sub-recipients,” said Michael Lyttle, TDHCA director of external affairs. “But these new ARPA funds are so significant and in our addition to our regular funding that we needed to add a statewide provider to assist in distributing funds statewide.”
For more information call (855) 566-2057 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or visit the TexasUtilityHelp.com website.
