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Iowa LIHEAP Policy and Procedures Manual 12.00 Vendors

Effective 09/01/2023

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CAAs must verify whether vendors and contractors are on the debarred/suspended list by checking the System for Award Management website at www.sam.gov.

If the contractor or vendor is on the debarment list, ensure it is the correct entity. If it is indeed who was searched for, that contractor or vendor cannot contract with any CAA or participate in any federal assistance programs. The contract should be terminated immediately and documented accordingly. Notify the state LIHEAP office before taking this step.

If the search yielded no results, or the results indicate no active exclusions, save an electronic copy of the search results and maintain it in the contractor/vendor file to serve as documentation that the search was performed as required.

12.40 Energy Vendor Sold, Merged or Out of Business Energy vendors should notify the local CAA of significant changes to their business. The CAA is also responsible for ensuring an energy vendor receiving LIHEAP payments is a functioning business. If an energy vendor goes out of business during the LIHEAP program year with LIHEAP funds on accounts, the funds need to be recaptured by the program and forwarded to the household’s new energy vendor. The local CAA must work with the energy vendor to facilitate the return of funds. If the local CAA is unable to contact the energy vendor or the energy vendor does not respond, the local CAA should contact the state LIHEAP office.

If the energy vendor merged with another company, a new agreement is to be entered into or an amendment to the agreement created, explaining the change in company name.

12.50 Water Vendors Water vendors include publicly-owned and privately/stakeholder owned owners and operators of water supply and treatment companies. In order to receive a water assistance payment towards a household experiencing a “water crisis” the vendor must sign/date the LIHWAP Vendor Agreement, which can be found on the Members Only page of https://humanrights.iowa.gov/dcaa.

12.51 Water Bills/Statements By signing the LIHWAP Vendor Agreement, vendors are required to itemize all bills/statements so that the charges for each service are clearly identified. The purpose of this is so agencies can ensure no disallowed costs are paid that would result in program non-compliance. If an agency encounters difficulty with a vendor being able to itemize charges this should be brought to the attention of the state.