16 Performance Goals and Measures, 2605(b)

16.1 Describe your progress toward meeting the data collection and reporting requirements of the four required LIHEAP (Benefit Targeting Index, Burden Reduction Targeting Index, Restoration of Home Energy Service, and Prevention of Loss of Home Energy Service). Include timeframes and plans for meeting these requirements and what you believe will be accomplished in the coming federal fiscal year. The Department collects annual expenditure and usage data from the utilities. The data included in the LIHEAP application has been available since FY2015 including data from the regulated utilities. The data is submitted to HHS annually. Vendor agreements also contain the Performance Measures data requirement. The Department also works with fuel vendors gathering annual usage and bill data. Data collected will be utilized to make program changes such as review of benefit amounts (increase or decrease) and review of energy burden to serve the households with the greatest energy needs, as necessary. In addition, this data collection will be utilized to target underserved communities through a marketing campaign. See Section 6.1 for more details on the marketing campaign. If any of the above questions require further explanation or clarification that could not be made in the fields provided, attach a document with said explanation here.