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Tennessee Housing Development Agency 2025 LIHEAP Policy Manual for Regular and Crisis Assistance 32

overage processing procedures. Applications from these tenants will be processed without any adjustment to energy usage. Applicants without an energy burden (i.e., those who do not have an active energy account) are not eligible for assistance. If the applicant has received LIHEAP assistance in the previous program year and still has any LIHEAP credit on their account, they are not eligible for assistance in the new program year until the credit has been used. If there is a LIHEAP Credit on the account and the applicant provides a current utility bill reflecting that the credit will be completely absorbed, the client can apply. 2.19 Annual Energy Usage Documentation Applicants must provide documentation of their annual energy usage from all active heating and cooling accounts. Acceptable documentation includes correspondence from electric and natural gas utility companies, and/or written statements from home-delivered energy suppliers. The documentation must identify: • The household member responsible for the energy costs • The applicant's household address • The time period for which the energy costs are being reported • If the bill is under a non-household member's name, the name of the account holder must be listed on the LIHEAP Application and included in THDA records. All current energy usage must be accurately reflected in the documentation. • It is best practice for subgrantees to collect 12 months of energy billing for all LIHEAP approved utilities. This practice is common to assess a household's annual energy burden and eligibility for assistance. How subgrantees can collect previous billing history The process for obtaining this information is a standard part of the intake and review process for energy assistance, though the exact procedure can vary by local agency. • Request from the client: The primary method is to have the client provide the necessary documentation themselves from their utility company or request the billing statements for the past 12 months. • Contacting the utility company: A subgrantee may be able to contact a utility company on behalf of a client to confirm billing history, especially if the client is having difficulty. This would require the applicant's consent, and the subgrantee would need to follow established procedures with the energy supplier.