News from New York State Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance

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State Commissioner Discusses Plans for Upcoming Heating Season

Calls on Washington to Boost Funding for Low-Income Families

ALBANY, NY (07/10/2008; 1112)(readMedia)-- David A. Hansell, Commissioner of the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, today called on leaders in Washington to provide additional funding for home energy assistance to help address a pending crisis for low-income families this winter.

"As is obvious from everyday accounts in the papers, we can expect a very difficult heating season ahead, particularly for low-income and vulnerable New Yorkers, as home delivered fuel and utility costs continue to soar," Commissioner Hansell said. "First and foremost, HEAP is a federally funded program and properly so, as the cost of energy is a national problem. The President and the Congress simply have to put additional HEAP formula and contingency funds forward as soon as possible at the federal level to address the crisis in affordable home heating fuel and electricity."

Commissioner Hansell made the comments at a public hearing on the state's Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) plan today in Harlem.

He also highlighted the major changes in HEAP OTDA is advancing this year for the program, which is scheduled to open on November 3, 2008.

• Implementation of a new $1.00 HEAP annual regular benefit level for income eligible households in certain living arrangement categories that were previously ineligible for benefits. This change will assist over 114,000 households statewide by greatly increasing their allowable standard utility deduction in the federal Food Stamp Program, thereby increasing food stamp benefits for them by over $150 million annually.

• Increasing the point value used in calculating regular benefits for households that pay directly for heat from $60.00 to $65.00 to lessen the impact of the rising cost of energy on households with the lowest incomes;

• Allocating $2.4 million to provide air conditioners for households where at least one household member has an acute medical condition that is exacerbated by extreme heat and documented by a physician;

• Allowing persons for whom an in-person emergency application poses an undue hardship to mail-in their application, subject to procedures to be developed by OTDA;

• Continuing to sub-allocate HEAP funds to both DHCR and SOFA so they can continue to provide weatherization services and help households heat their homes efficiently - we are also actively discussing with both agencies how we can better align their weatherization efforts to make sure our HEAP clients are targeted, so we that the families for whom we provide benefits live in more energy secure homes.
  
  
• Raising the amount over which OTDA's approval is required for replacement of essential heating equipment from $2,500 to $3,000 to reflect cost increases. The maximum allowable total benefit remains set at $6,000;

• Eliminating the "tenant of record" requirement for HEAP emergency benefits to ease the local district administrative burden. The "customer of record" requirement would remain in place, thus ensuring that the HEAP benefit is issued to the person actually incurring the energy cost;

• Changing the definition of "energy emergency" for oil, kerosene and propane customers from having a heating fuel supply that will last less than ten calendar days to having a heating fuel supply that is equal to or less than one-quarter of the household's fuel tank to make it easier for customers, vendors and local districts to determine when a household is running low on fuel; and

• Eliminating the option for vendors to participate in the HEAP Oil Buying Component solely on the basis of offering price protection plans. Vendors will be required to choose either a margin over rack or discount off retail option and if they have a subset of customers on price protection plans, those would be honored provided that the plans cover the bulk of the winter season. Vendors that provide service contracts where the contract would become void if the customer obtained fuel from another vendor would still be eligible to participate.

"These changes show that we are serious about trying to protect low-income New Yorkers to the best of our ability from what promises to be a very difficult winter for many," Commissioner Hansell said. "We also desperately need advocates and the general public to work with us to make the Bush administration and Congress put adequate funding in the HEAP Program to protect the nation's poorest and vulnerable residents this winter."

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