More energy assistance available for Central Illinois customers
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By Jacob Hamm
The summer months can bring lots of stress about energy costs as the temperatures climb. The Energy Assistance Foundation operates the “Warm Neighbors Cool Friends” program, which helps customers who do not meet the criteria for LIHEAP, pay their energy bills in the summer and winter months.
Susan Sams, the Executive Director of the Energy Assistance Foundation, says the foundation covers most areas in Illinois served by Ameren, or about 44,000 square miles in the central and southern regions of the state.
“We normally spend about $800,000 a year on energy assistance, this year, we have received a $2 million grant from Ameren,” Sams said. She said the foundation aims to spend the entire $2 million.
“It’s a great problem to have to use these extra funds,” she said.
To qualify for this program, customers must have a documented disability that requires air conditioning, be a senior citizen, have a financial need for assistance, or fit within the income criteria that can be checked on their website at https://www.warmneighborscoolfriends.org/items-2.
A person or household must fall between the 200 and 300 percent range of the Federal Poverty Level or at 80 percent of the county’s median income. A household of four can qualify for “Warm Neighbors Cool Friends” if they make between $6,406 and $8,037 per month.
Here in Douglas County, the foundation partners with the Embarras River Basin Agency to provide assistance to local residents.
Sams said that the organization matches what the customer pays, up to $500 in the winter months. “One of the things we’re most proud of is we match what customers pay,” she said.