Trains, helicopters, airplanes, rockets, steamers, metros……
Maybe I gave you some feel of the speed, the swiftness with which we are moving. Life is busy, motion is fast. We are advancing ourselves every day. We are in search of ways to do everything in a jiffy. Anything that works slow or takes time is not efficient for us no matter what is its output. In this competitive and busy world we really have no time to spare for our household responsibilities. All we wish to pay attention at is earning more and more and how to progress. But you see few things are mandatory to be done. You just have to do it. If you don’t, you will get decelerated in your pace in the mad race.
Everything is working on electricity now. Electricity has covered every sphere of human life. From productive machines like computer system to not so productive yet useful electric trimmer, everything runs on electricity. Electricity is distributed by the government to each and every home in units. We use the electric power to run the machines which are assisting us in almost each and every task every day. We need to pay for each and every unit of electricity we consume. Here comes the blunder of bill payment, the electricity bill payment. Well! payment of electricity bills has never been as easy as it seems. Actually the issue is, we have become habitual to paying mobile phone bills, food bills, shopping bills etc. through advanced apps which require almost zero effort from our side. Payment of electricity bills is something which requires us to follow some procedures and put in some effort. And that’s the only reason why people find it cumbersome. Well !electricity bill payment really becomes a hard nut to crack for old citizens who are unable to take that much work load and get along with systematic proceedings. Single mothers out there with a lot of responsibilities and work load also find the electricity bill payment cumbersome. No matter how well informed you, are you really need assistance in the process of bill payment. There are government as well as authorized and unauthorized private organizations which assist people regarding electricity bill payment. LIHEAP is the chief program in this field.
LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program)
LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) is the most successful initiative in this sphere which provides assistance in paying heating and cooling bills across major territories and states in the USA. Not only bill payment this program provides emergency services too in cases of energy crisis like utility shutoffs. LIHEAP extends its utility to low cost home improvements too. It acts as a helping hand in making homes energy efficient. This is the best function of LIHEAP, which works towards saving electricity for future generations. We are consuming a lot of electricity. This not only means exploitation of natural resources, but also a burden of high energy bills for us. LIHEAP works towards making homes energy efficient and lowering the utility bills. This feature of LIHEAP has engaged a lot of people with it who wish to work out their energy bill problems.
In order to receive assistance in electricity bill payment from LIHEAP, you need to fulfill the specified eligibility criteria. The eligibility requirements vary from region to region. Each local LIHEAP office too set its own eligibility criteria. Some of common and average eligibility can however be listed and are stated below.
- An individual or a family, which is a part of certain other benefit program like (SNAP), (SSI), (TANF) is automatically eligible for LIHEAP.
- Once you qualify for LIHEAP the assistance in energy bill payment is still not guaranteed. Actually the assistance provided to people depends upon the fund received by the organization for the year.
- Only 20% of registered individuals or families receive assistance from LIHEAP. In case the organization runs out of funds, then it stops working until it receives funds from Congress.
In order to apply for assistance from LIHEAP, you can contact your local LIHEAP office. Queries about the application process can also be solved by contacting on the toll free no. 866-674-6327. Application purpose for your state can also be online and hence your job is made easy. National Energy Assistance Referral Hotline also provides help with your LIHEAP application. In case your income is too high to qualify for LIHEAP but you still need help with electricity bills your local social services agency or a nonprofit organization can actually impart help if they have funds.
CAAs (Community Action Agencies)
Community Action Agencies are public or private organizations that aim to help low income single mothers with their electricity bill problems. They focus on making individuals and families financially independent. This program was brought into action, keeping in mind the drudgery on a single mother with low income. These (CAAs) are nonprofit groups with more than 1000 offices located across America to extend helping hand to people. In order to get assistance from your local CAA you got to contact the CAA head office at 202-265-7546. They even have proper websites to ease the work of a single mother. All the information regarding the application process is available there in great details.
Weatherization Assistance Program for single mothers
This is an initiative by US government to provide assistance to low income community members with their electricity bills. Elderly people aged above 60 are given preference in the application process for assistance. This program also aims to make homes energy efficient and is becoming increasingly popular among single mothers. Eligibility criteria for the application process are given in great details on their website.
Apart from above mentioned initiatives, there are many more programs run by charity centers and insurance companies too to assist people in the task of energy bill payment. Grants are available for single mothers and elder citizens from various charity centers and insurance companies for this purpose.
