CHARLOTTE — Many in the Carolinas have been seeing some of the highest energy bills they’ve ever received.
As we’ve reported, the combination of colder temperatures, higher rates from Piedmont Natural Gas, and the pass-through costs of high natural gas prices is having a big impact on neighbors. Mecklenburg County’s Department of Community Resources has been fielding hundreds of calls and applications every week from folks looking for help.
Chanda Martin, the program coordinator for the county’s energy assistance programs, said the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program, which is specifically available only during the winter, is in high demand.
“They’re on fixed income, you have low-income residents, that’s a shock to the system,” she said. “It’s here to help them and it’s a huge benefit.”
The county typically offers a second program, the Crisis Intervention Program, which helps customers experiencing heating/cooling emergencies with a final notice or past due utility bill, but it’s unavailable this winter because all of its funds have already been allocated.
“We assisted a lot of families, so the funds are depleted,” Martin said.
According to the department, the funding was used up before the end of November. The funds usually become available each July, but it was earliest Mecklenburg County has ever used all its state allocation. Staff said the funding was smaller than they’d seen in previous years and the need over the summer was unusually high.
As for this winter, Martin encourages anyone who might be eligible to apply before the program ends on March 31. To be eligible, you must be at or below 150% of the federal poverty level.
So far, she said the department has received 3,346 applications and processed more than 2,300.
These programs are state-funded and available in every North Carolina County, more information is available here. Both Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas have their own programs to assist low-income customers or customers who have fallen behind on their bills.
North Carolina also recently launched Energy Saver NC, a program funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to help low and moderate-income households reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient. The DEQ is still taking applications on the program’s website.
The agency said in a statement: “DEQ is closely watching any federal actions that may change the operations of the program. As of this time, funding through these programs remains available.”
Another reason for high energy bills
It’s not just your natural gas bill going up either. Duke Energy says it saw record demand during a recent cold snap, and the Environmental Defense Fund says that will be reflected in your bill.
The EDF says Duke relies on gas-powered plants, and customer bills include the fuel they use to generate electricity.
Duke responded saying that residential customers had rate drops at the start of the year.
“The only reason prices are going down now is because bills jumped last year to pay for the cold winter the year before,” said Will Scott with the Environmental Defense Fund. “So again, we’re just on a roller coaster here, and it’s coming down from historic highs, but it’s gonna go back up again next year, because we had a cold winter this year.”
Duke Energy plans to build several new natural gas powered-plants and add turbines to existing facilities within the next 10 years. The utility says that buildout is necessary to ensure the Carolinas have reliable power all the time.
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