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EAP Policy Manual FFY24 Chapter 4 Primary Heat Page 5
Does the household have commercial energy costs? Commercial energy costs can only be included in consumption data if the household operates a farm or other business with a single meter for commercial and residential energy use. If this is the case, the “Business Use of Home / Shared Meter” option must be checked in eHEAT. Has the household changed heating fuels in the past year? If a household has changed their heating fuels since the previous heating season, any consumption data will no longer reflect their actual energy costs. Before determining the benefit, Service Providers should mark all consumption data from the previous year “invalid” and indicate the current heating fuels in eHEAT. The system will use the backup matrix to determine a benefit for the new fuel type. If the household changes their fuel type after the application is approved, the Service Provider should not invalidate consumption or re- determine the benefit. If the household uses biofuel and another fuel type for heat, has the percentage used changed since the past year? If there is a 30 percentage point (or more) increase or decrease (e.g., 30% to 60%, 75% to 25%, etc.), mark consumption “invalid” for the non-biofuel vendor, and complete the biofuel worksheet. eHEAT will select either the Backup Matrix for the primary fuel type listed or the reported biofuel consumption cost, whichever is greater. Is consumption from inactive vendors counted towards energy costs? Yes, unless the household has changed heating fuels. When households change energy vendors, they will often have consumption from the previous vendor (marked as “inactive” in eHEAT) and no consumption from the new vendor. If the new vendor provides the same type of fuel, the consumption still reflects the household’s energy costs. Does the household’s consumption data match the heating fuels on their application? The EAP application allows households to rank the fuels used to heat their home. Service Providers must ensure these rankings match the household’s consumption data. Does the household have a separate meter for electric heat? EAP assumes that the majority of electric costs are used for non-heating purposes. If a household has electric heat with its own meter, reporting only the heating consumption will result in smaller benefit. For these households, all residential electric costs should be combined and entered into eHEAT as the heating cost.