Helping with the heat

Friday, Jan. 23, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by REID SILVERMAN Preston Day, a Southern Maryland Oil employee for 15 years, refills a tank at a home in California recently. Day said the busiest time of year is from October through April, when he makes about 30 runs a day. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

Justin McLean didn't know what he was going to do.

His work as a painter had drastically slowed by September. Not only was he on the verge of a utility cutoff, but he didn't know how he would fill his heating oil tank and keep his 3-year-old daughter warm through the winter. The Huntingtown resident had never been in such a position before.

Back in August, long before blustery winds and cold temperatures made their way to Southern Maryland, residents were beginning to worry about how $4-a-gallon gasoline was going to translate into higher heating oil prices.

But despite a rapid drop in crude oil prices over the last couple of months that has brought prices down 20 to 30 percent from last winter, more people are in need this winter, mostly due to increased job losses and foreclosures that have become common in a tough economy, local assistance program officials say.

And because many local heating oil companies purchased their product in bulk to protect consumers from escalating prices, residents haven't yet seen the effects of much lower crude oil costs in their propane or oil tanks as they have at the pump.

"We are overwhelmed with applications," said Swynice Hawkins, executive director of the Southern Maryland Tri-County Community Action Committee, which runs home energy and bill assistance programs for Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's residents using private, state and federal grant money. "We are seeing an average of 50 households per day. By 1:30 p.m." on a recent Monday, "we had already seen 60 households."

The organization has spent about $1.3 million from the state for its home heating assistance program, about $1.2 million for bulk fuel purchases for needy families, about $1.5 million for energy bill assistance and about $457,000 to help families in arrears on utility bills. Last year the state ran out of funds and the agency had to stop taking applications, Hawkins said, but hopes not to run into the same problem this year. Hawkins participates in monthly conference calls to discuss who needs more funds and who isn't spending their funds. For example, the community action agency was given $411,269 for arrearage funds and in December the state gave it an additional $215,000. The state's allocation was $11,200,000 for this program.

"These funds are first-come, first-served and whoever needs it, gets it," Hawkins said.

The money is used to help more people than ever before, who are of all ages and walks of life, and who may have never had to apply for any assistance before in their lives. An applicant who has fallen behind on utilities bills receives a one-time benefit of $300 to $2,000 to bring him or her up to speed.

There have been more such people than ever before, Hawkins said. McLean was one of them. He turned to SMTCCAC after a friend told him help was available.

"My work basically told me we don't have any work, so I was like wow. That's why I couldn't afford" heat or electricity, McLean said. "The day they came and shut my electric off, I called [SMTCCAC] panicked and they made a call to SMECO to turn it back on that day."

Based on the 22-year-old's financial history over the previous 30 days, the organization paid $700 of his $1,100 utility bill and filled his heating oil tank.

Since July 1, SMTCCAC has received 4,868 applications for all of its assistance programs — up from 4,055 in FY 2008. That's about a 20 percent increase. Applications began to flood in over the summer and are expected to continue to trickle in until April. Applications are up nearly 40 percent from FY 2008.

The number of applicants, like McLean, in Calvert County alone has doubled since FY 2007. "I was surprised when I got those last numbers. I was shocked with Calvert's numbers. Folks think [Southern Maryland's] rich, but we still have people who can't pay their bills," Hawkins said. "People have been sick, went in the hospital and didn't work for a couple weeks. We've seen a lot of that."

"A lot of [middle-class] people come in and they're in tears and they're ashamed because they've never had to ask for help. They're in their mid-50s and had income all their lives and they're career people and here they are at the other side of table," said Lucinda Hardy, a Waldorf resident who applied for assistance in October after she was laid off from her substitute teaching job with Charles County's public schools. She inquired about employment and now works for the energy assistance program. At the time of her interview with a reporter, she was bombarded with clients. "And all you can do is hold their hands and tell them it's going to be OK. Everybody's out there just trying to survive the times right now."

Hardy is also facing foreclosure but is working on a loan modification.

"I was already struggling with regular bills because I'm a single parent of two children. I used to be able to buy 100 gallons at a time and it would be $250 or $300. Now for 200 gallons you're talking about $600 to $700," Hardy said. "[SMTCCAC] helped me with bill payments. I was not going to have heat this winter at all and I received $800 in fuel, which is like two tanks full and will last me through next winter. I haven't had the oil changed in my car in six months. Those kinds of things you take for granted … the things that you need the most are expensive."

The assistance from SMTCCAC was especially helpful because she and her children do not qualify for other types of public assistance or health insurance.

Despite increased demand that puts a strain on grant budgets, Hawkins said funds are released to about 85 percent of applicants.

The organization is noticing more applicants tend to be moving in with relatives and friends so they can share utility responsibilities, Hawkins said, and some applicants are in arrears as much as up to $2,800.

"People, they're struggling. They've got house payments and other bills. It's not easy," Hawkins said.

To qualify for SMTCCAC assistance, an individual or family must earn a salary of no more than 175 percent of the federal poverty level in the previous 30 days. That's the equivalent of $1,516 gross income for a single person to $3,091 for a family of four. An applicant must be a Southern Maryland resident and can be a homeowner, boarder, roommate, renter or Section 8 housing assistance recipient. "We tell people they can come back if things change, because it's based on the last 30 days," Hawkins said.

At a time when funds are needed most, the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative's Project Match program has seen a drop in contributions since last year, from about $17,000 to $14,380. The program allows SMECO customers to donate money that the company will match and donate to SMTCCAC weekly to help needy customers pay electric bills.

"So far, we've received $14,380 and the program goes from Nov. 1 through April 15. SMECO matches dollar for dollar up to $50,000. We are slightly down from last year's total with $17,000. Last year we matched $27,033. You can make those payments right with your monthly SMECO bills. It goes to a very good cause," said SMECO spokesman Tom Dennison.

"Over the past year, when we started to see the economic conditions really take hold, we have noticed that there have been customers having more difficulty in paying their bills," he said. "While there may be more customers in arrears, we are working with our customers continuously by placing them with assistance agencies and working with them to conserve energy as best we can as we move into these cold weather months. It's been coming on for the better part of the year. We encourage them to let us know early to avoid having late bills stack up. Disconnects are the very last resort. We try to minimize those as much as possible."

SMECO is not allowed by law to disconnect electricity from October through April. Dennison said more people are delinquent than in past years, though he could not pinpoint an exact number.

Lock Wills, president and chief executive officer of Southern Maryland Oil, said his company has had to work harder this year to work out payment plans with customers who find times tough, even lowering payments by as much as 30 percent for some customers. But it may be too early to tell if overall consumption has taken a hit.

"We expect consumption to cut back on a weather adjustment basis," Wills said. "Frankly, prices today are cheaper than a year ago. With some good luck that'll continue. It's about $2.50 now, versus $2.90 a year ago and about $4.50 over the summer. The weather is about 7 percent colder than normal so you would expect consumption to be up but … we haven't been through the peak season. You work with folks as best you can. There's not a one size fits all. Our fixed-income and long-term customers, they rely on us to be responsive to their needs and help them through difficult times."

Private money — such as a $15,000 annual grant from the Rotary Club of Lexington Park and Project Match funds — are used to fill in the gaps for SMTCCAC assistance applicants who aren't poor enough for state and federal funding but are still needy — with a previous 30-day salary maximum of $1,733 for a single person and $3,533 for a family of four.

About 10 percent of people who've received state and federal funds also receive private funds. "We do whatever we have to do to prevent them from being shut off or turn them back on," Hawkins said. "We hope not to see a big increase when April comes but we never know. We're supposed to work ourselves out of business but it doesn't look like that will happen."

McLean said he is crossing their fingers until the spring.

"I am a little worried [about paying bills] because I'm still not working full time," McLean said. "And everywhere you go to put in an application for a job, you don't get a call back."

kkulp@somdnews.com

Some ways to save heat and money

• Replace a roof when it’s time using fiberglass instead of asphalt shingles or tile. It can prevent up to 40 percent of heat loss and has a life of 50 years compared to 20 or 25 for asphalt

. • Properly insulate the attic. It can save up to 10 percent on heating and cooling bills

• Apply foam insulation to the exterior walls of older frame houses. Holes are drilled in the walls, the foam insulation is sprayed in and then holes are sealed.

• Caulk, spray foam or weather strip around doors, windows and areas where telephone wires come into the home.

• Seal exposed duct work in the basement and attic using a mastic duct sealer on duct work joints and seams. It works better than duct tape and is available at hardware and home improvement stores.

• Lower the thermostat a few degrees when going to bed or when nobody is home. For every degree above 68 degrees, a heating unit requires 3 percent more energy. Consider installing a programmable thermostat that lowers the heat when not needed. Source: www.EnergyWizard.info