Page 34

Iowa LIHEAP Policy and Procedures Manual 11.00 Payments

Effective 09/01/2023

Page | 28

If two LIHEAP recipients, living in separate homes, have the same utility account number, pay one LIHEAP customer’s utility company and send a direct payment to the other LIHEAP customer. For example: A mother living in a different home allowed her daughter to put the account in the mother’s name.

In rare cases, a LIHEAP customer will present a utility bill from a third-party vendor. For example, although a LIHEAP customer’s primary vendor is Alliant Energy, the LIHEAP customer presented a utility bill from Arcadia Power. Arcadia is a third-party company that charges a fee to help ensure Iowa uses green energy. In these cases, the payment must be sent to either the primary vendor or a direct pay to the LIHEAP customer.

When a customer heats with a deliverable fuel and the award is being sent to the secondary utility, the award amount should be the amount they would have received if the award was being sent to the primary vendor.

The following expenses may be paid with the LIHEAP Regular Assistance benefit: ● Deliverable fuel deliveries/fills made to stationary and portable tanks o Portable Tanks: If the agency has an agreement with the deliverable fuel vendor, payment is made to the vendor. If there is no agreement with the vendor, the customer can be reimbursed for fills based upon submitted receipts, up to the award amount. ● Pressure check, safety check, leak seek test ● Emergency delivery fees such as after hours, same day delivery, non-route delivery

The following are considered unsupported expenses and will not be paid from the LIHEAP Regular Assistance Benefit: ● Pump-out fees ● Amounts owed on business/commercial accounts

11.20 Secondary Energy Supplier/Vendor/Utility Eligible households who pay an undesignated portion of their rent toward energy costs will receive assistance sent directly to their secondary (electric) provider.

Secondary (electric) energy suppliers are also paid when a household has a credit on their heating account that exceeds one (1) times the total of their primary heating bills for the previous year. The secondary energy supplier may be paid once per year with Regular Assistance funds. The Payment to Secondary Vendor form, which is maintained on the Members Only page of https://humanrights.iowa.gov/dcaa, must be completed by the agency, signed/dated by the customer, and maintained in the customer’s file along with the documentation listed below:

● A copy of the current primary and secondary utility bills (a screenshot from the utility portal will suffice) ● A copy of the primary and secondary previous 12 month’s bills (a screenshot from the utility portal will suffice)

Note: If there is nothing due on the utility account, enter $0.00 in the Payment to Secondary Vendor Form.

When there is excessive credit with the primary vendor:

● Agencies are expected to inquire about the reason for the large credit in order to rule out health and safety concerns (e.g., thermostat turned too low, bundling up with extra clothes and blankets). In addition, instead of realizing the bill is showing a credit, the LIHEAP customer may think they owe the amount shown. ● Ensure that payments have been appropriately applied on bills with both gas and electric bundled together. Encourage energy suppliers to apply payments toward the entire bill.