Still feeling the heating bill blues

On a sunny 80-degree day last week, a Cape Girardeau resident named Agnes talked about her plans to hibernate next winter when temperatures drop. After all, 67-year-old Agnes and her husband, 72, can't afford not to.

Agnes showed off the elderly couple's winter hideaway. It's a 10-by-15-foot room added onto the side of their one-story home. An overabundance of insulation fills the walls. A stone fireplace will provide extra heat. There's even a small bathroom.

The add-on room was built for them by several friends. This room is where the couple will remain for the majority of the winter while trying to stay warm and keep utility costs low.

Outrageously high utility bills this past year are forcing the couple to plan ahead for the winter months. They tried to control their heating bill last winter. They set their thermostat lower than usual -- at 68 degrees. They rarely left more than one light bulb on at a time. On sunny days during the winter months Agnes hung their clothes on the clothesline to dry.

But at the end of March the couple, who paid $154 per month on AmerenUE's budget billing plan, received a final utility bill for the year. The bill was $468. They also were informed their monthly budgeted bills would be increasing to $194.

The final bill shocked the couple. Living on a fixed income, they had no means to pay the $468.

They felt overwhelmed, Agnes said. Never before had they been put in a situation where they had to ask for help.

They called the East Missouri Action Agency, a not-for-profit agency that provides services for low-income individuals and families. But they were told every penny of the EMAA's utility assistance funds -- almost $150,000 -- had been spent.

The case of Agnes and her husband is all too common, said Shanna Ashton, an EMAA community information specialist. Hundreds of Cape Girardeau County residents find it difficult to pay their utility bills. The increasing price of natural gas made utility bills even more difficult to pay this past winter, she added.

"A $900 bill is common," Ashton said. "When it comes down to it, these people are having to rely on a friend or family member or some agency to help them pay."

The EMAA distributes money for heating assistance through two federally funded programs -- the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Emergency Crisis Intervention Program.

This past winter, LIHEAP served 1,755 families in Cape Girardeau County, up 250 families from the previous year. The ECIP program helps households that receive disconnection notices. More than 750 Cape Girardeau County families received ECIP funds this past winter, Ashton said. But the program's guidelines only allow a household to receive funding once, and the amount distributed depends on how many children and adults live in a household.

With the EMAA out of money, Agnes and her husband sought help from the Salvation Army, another agency that provides energy assistance. The answer was the same: No utility assistance funding was left.

Most of the $20,000 the Salvation Army has to help pay energy bills is usually depleted as soon as the money becomes available, said Maj. Michael Thomas of the Salvation Army in Cape Girardeau.

This past winter, the Salvation Army provided utility assistance to one of every four people who walked through the door. The agency received 50 percent more telephone calls from people needing assistance compared to the previous winter.

"I think it's fair to say it was a lot more difficult to help people this winter compared to years past," Thomas said. "It was especially a lot more difficult for low-income households to keep up with their utilities."

Thomas said each case is evaluated to determine who is in greater need of help. "If you are about to get your services shut off, then that's something we definitely consider," Thomas said. "But when you're only able to help one out of every four people, it gets hard."

After being turned away at the Salvation Army, Agnes and her husband were given the phone number of First Call for Help, an information and referral program for social services in Cape Girardeau County. First Call for Help put Agnes in touch with several different churches and other agencies that paid all of their their $468 utility bill.

Not all Cape Girardeau County residents who need help paying their utilities are that lucky. Denise Wimp, program coordinator for First Call for Help, said the organization received 692 calls from residents who needed assistance paying utility bills from Nov. 2005 to March 2006. From Nov. 2004 to March 2005, the program had 522 calls for utility assistance.

"Here it is April, and people are getting disconnection notices," Wimp said. "All of the money to help them is gone."

The EMAA's Ashton said the Cold Weather Rule, which ensures households will have electric and gas services during the winter, gave low-income households some respite. But the rule was no longer in effect beginning April 1.

Cape Girardeau County receives $45,000 per year for energy assistance from AmerenUE. This year, the utility company provided an additional $25,000 grant to the EMAA and Salvation Army. It also provided close to $6,000 from its Dollar More program, which allows customers to contribute an additional dollar on their utility bills to go toward energy assistance.

AmerenUE spokesman Mike Cleary said heating bills could have been a lot worse, but the area had a mild winter. Agnes' budgeted utility bill is rising to keep pace with an increase in the wholesale price of the gas, he said.

The EMAA also provides assistance through the ECIP program from June 1 through Sept. 30, but Ashton said not as much money is available as in the winter months.

Cleary said AmerenUE hasn't raised electric rates in 19 years. He said price increases on summer utility bills will depend on the weather.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246

GRAPHIC

AmerenUE's natural gas customers utility bills during the winter months from Nov. 2005 to March 2006 averaged $165 per month.

Federally-funded Low Income Energy Assistance Program assisted 1,755 Cape Girardeau County families with their utility bills.

The Emergency Crisis Intervention Program assisted 750 Cape Girardeau County families with their utility bills.

The Salvation Army received 50 percent more calls from individuals seeking energy assistance this winter compared to last year's winter.

The East Missouri Action Agency distributed $150,000 in energy assistance to Cape Girardeau County residents