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Iowa LIHEAP Policy and Procedures Manual 12.00 Vendors

Effective 09/01/2023

Page | 31

12.00 VENDORS

Fuel vendors supply electric, natural gas, liquid propane (LP), heating oil, wood, kerosene, and other fuels to heat the homes of LIHEAP customers.

Water vendors supply drinking and waste water to households for purposes of consumption and water- waste removal.

Local agencies enter an agreement with the vendors to ensure fair, consistent practices and to outline program requirements.

A signed vendor agreement with each participating vendor (electric, natural gas, liquid propane (LP), heating oil, wood, kerosene, water etc.) must be on file with the CAA before any payments can be made to that vendor (original, faxed, or scanned agreements are acceptable). Signatures must be original or digitally time-stamped, which may include a signature log. By signing a vendor agreement, the vendor cannot refuse assistance payments (unless the payment exceeds the amount needed in cases of crisis) and cannot put any additional conditions on accepting assistance payments.

In the event a particular supplier will not sign an agreement, an attempt should be made to establish service with a participating vendor. If this is not possible, direct payments may be made to eligible LIHEAP customers following the procedure in Section 11.00 of this manual. Direct payment may NOT be made to LIHWAP households as per federal regulations water assistance payments can only be issued directly to vendors and authorized third parties with state LIHEAP office approval. Any payment made to a vendor without a documented agreement with the agency will be considered a disallowed cost.

Utility deposit fees for new service is an allowable cost for energy assistance.

Utility deposit fees for new service is NOT an allowable cost for water assistance. New service is considered first-time service where the customer has not had an account with that water service provider before.

Utility deposit fees for reconnecting water service is an allowable cost.

The vendor agreements provide important protections for the LIHEAP customer and are maintained in the Members Only section of the Iowa LIHEAP Program’s website at https://humanrights.iowa.gov/dcaa.

12.10 Electric/Natural Gas Vendors Electric and natural gas vendors include investor-owned utilities (Alliant Energy, Black Hills Energy, MidAmerican Energy), municipalities (e.g., City of Pella), and RECs (rural electric cooperatives). In order to receive a LIHEAP payment to apply as credit on a customer account, the vendor must sign/date the Electric/Natural Gas Vendor Agreement, which can be found on the Members Only page of https://humanrights.iowa.gov/dcaa.

12.20 Deliverable Fuel Vendors There are two types of vendor agreements for deliverable fuel vendors (those delivering fuel such as LP, heating oil, wood, kerosene, and corn), which are discussed in detail below.

All deliverable fuel vendors (those delivering fuel such as LP, heating oil, wood, and kerosene) must include a price list of routine services that are normal and customary and sign a vendor agreement. If the vendor does not have a price list, it should be properly noted in the file. The CAA Unit does not prescribe a certain list of services because most vendors have their own. A price list of routine services typically includes:

● Pressure Check