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Iowa LIHEAP Policy and Procedures Manual 11.00 Payments

Effective 09/01/2023

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11.00 PAYMENTS

All payments are contingent upon the availability of federal funds. No household is entitled to a certain amount or form of assistance from this program. Households must meet the income eligibility guidelines and there must be program funds available before assistance payments can be made.

Both owner-occupied and renter-occupied households are eligible. The amount of assistance a household receives depends upon available funding, total household income, household size, dwelling type, type of primary heating fuel the household uses, and other targeting factors enumerated in the payment matrix.

Payments shall be made on a first-come, first-served basis, based on application date, with the amount of payment determined by total number of matrix points. For liquid propane (LP) and fuel oil LIHEAP customers, if the initial benefit on the matrix is less than $800 the deliverable fuel benefit will be set at $800.

The energy assistance payments may be made to the:

● Primary Energy Supplier/Vendor/Utility (these terms are interchangeable) ● Secondary Energy Supplier/Vendor/Utility (these terms are interchangeable) ● Household (see 11.30 for restrictions)

The water assistance payments may be made to the:

● Water Service Provider/Vendor/Utility (these terms are interchangeable) ● Authorized third parties with state LIHEAP office approval

Awards using LIHEAP funds (LIHEAP Regular Assistance or ECIP) cannot be made to pay for diversion fees for LIHEAP customers who fraudulently receive service. Diversion fees relate to the unauthorized use of service, such as tampering with, or bypassing company equipment (such as a meter, or pipe).

Tax and meter fees on utility bills may be paid with LIHEAP Regular Assistance and ECIP funds. Reconnection fees can only be paid with ECIP funds.

Third party vendors will not be paid unless expressly approved by the state office.

Crisis payments cannot be made directly to the customer, because there is no guarantee that the crisis will be averted, unless approved by the state LIHEAP office.

11.10 Primary Energy Supplier/Vendor/Utility Generally, Regular Assistance payments are made to the primary energy supplier. One check may be issued by the agency to an energy supplier for more than one household, along with a list of household accounts and the amount of benefit each receives. The LIHEAP customer’s benefit award shall remain as a credit on the LIHEAP customer’s account until the benefit amount is expended or the account is terminated.

The Regular Assistance award is to be applied to the cost of the heating source supplying the household’s non-business residential primary heating fuel.

If the primary energy supplier account is in the landlord’s name and the LIHEAP customer knows the account number, the benefit payment may be made directly to the energy supplier instead of making a direct payment to the LIHEAP customer, provided the energy supplier and landlord agree (documentation of such agreement should be maintained in the file).