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EAP Policy Manual FFY24 Chapter 4 Primary Heat Page 4
Even though the household was voluntarily disconnected during this period, reporting the consumption as complete will most accurately represent the household’s energy costs. Consumption for delivered fuels If a household has had an account with a delivered fuel vendor for 12 consecutive months, report the entire 12-month period. Do not use the first and last delivery dates as the consumption time period. For example, if a household has been a long term customer and received propane deliveries in September 2020, December 2020, and March 2021, the consumption date range is June 2020 to May 2021. Low consumption due to extended absence Some households may have very low consumption because they spend much of the year elsewhere (e.g. traveling south for the winter). Actual consumption should be used for these households if possible. When actual consumption is not available, Service Providers should enter “1” for the household’s fuel consumption, enter $1 for their fuel cost, and indicate that the consumption is actual. This tells eHEAT to award the minimum Primary Heat benefit. Biofuel heat Consumption data for households heating with biofuel is frequently unavailable. In this cases, consumption can be estimated using EAP’s biofuel worksheet. The worksheet requires the following information: • Number of bedrooms should be indicated on the household’s application. Efficiency apartments are counted as having one bedroom. Bedrooms in basements and attics can be counted, but other main living spaces (e.g. living room, dining room) used as sleeping spaces cannot be counted. • Percentage of heat from biofuel is also declared by the household. If biofuel is the primary heat source and consumption data from other heat sources is unavailable, this should be 100%. • The type of biofuel used by the household (e.g. wood, corn, or pellets). • The estimated local cost of the household’s biofuel. Service providers must research biofuel prices in their area to estimate per-unit fuel costs. The fuel consumption and fuel cost produced by the worksheet should be entered into eHEAT. Validating Household Energy Consumption Before determining a Primary Heat benefit, Service Providers must review a household’s consumption data to ensure it accurately reflects their situation. At a minimum, Service Providers should verify the following.