With the lifting of the pandemic emergency, Spectrum Community Services has received an overwhelming number of applications for utility assistance benefits and is unable to provide assistance to all who have applied. At the beginning of this year, energy companies (PG&E and Alameda Municipal Power) lifted moratoriums on power shut-offs that had been in place during the pandemic. This led to an unprecedented influx of utility assistance applications. Also, COVID-relief funding from Congress has expired and will not be renewed. This means we have millions of dollars less to assist households with utility payments in Alameda County. Before the pandemic $3.5 million dollars were paid out in utility assistance across the county; in just the first six months of 2023, that number has already been surpassed. In this same time period, we received 14% more applications than the 7,342 we received during all of 2022.
The well-established, decades-old, federally-funded LIHEAP program, while not in jeopardy of being cut, has nation-wide only been able to assist 16% of eligible households with basic energy assistance.
Due to the increase in demand and influx of phone calls, we are not able to return calls requesting status of applications. Our representatives will reach out to clients on an as-needed basis.
LIHEAP is a federally-funded program to help low-income households pay their energy bills. Assistance is in the form of a direct payment to the utility company on behalf of an eligible applicant. Eligibility is based on the household’s total monthly income, which cannot exceed the LIHEAP income guidelines below.
Federal LIHEAP funds are for households with low incomes and high energy costs, prioritizing households with elderly, disabled persons and/or children five and under.
| Size of Household | Total Combined Monthly Income | Total Combined Annual Income |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,700.17 | $32,402.04 |
| 2 | $3,531.00 | $42,372.00 |
| 3 | $4,361.83 | $52,341.96 |
| 4 | $5,192.75 | $62,313.00 |
| 5 | $6,023.59 | $72,283.08 |
| 6 | $6,854.43 | $82,253.16 |
| 7 | $7,010.21 | $84,122.52 |
| 8 | $7,166.00 | $85,992.00 |
| 9 | $7,321.78 | $87,861.36 |
| 10 | $7,477.56 | $89,730.72 |
For households larger than ten, please call Spectrum for more information.
*Income before taxes are deducted.
Additional Resources If you receive a discontinuation notice or your service has been shut off, please continue to make payment arrangements with your utility company to prevent disruption to your service. Click here for additional resources.
Information sourced from EBCE