Nearly 77,000 households served last year<\/p>\n
The Ohio Department of Development and Pathway Inc. wants to help alleviate
\nthe burden of costly energy bills this winter and keep more of Ohio’s
\nfamilies warm.<\/p>\n
From Nov. 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025, income-eligible Ohioans can
\nreceive one-time assistance with their home energy bill through the
\nDepartment of Development’s Home Energy Assistance Winter Crisis Program.<\/p>\n
The Winter Crisis Program assists Ohioans facing service disconnection,
\nthose who have already been disconnected, individuals needing to establish
\nnew service, those required to pay for a service transfer, and those with a
\nPercentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP) default or who need to make their
\nfirst PIPP payment. It also supports households with 25 percent or less of
\nbulk fuel in their tank to maintain service. Qualifying households must
\nhave a gross annual income at or below 175 percent of the federal poverty
\nlevel. For a family of four, that is $54,600.<\/p>\n
Last year, the Winter Crisis Program assisted nearly 77,000 households in
\nOhio, providing a total of $23.5 million in benefits.<\/p>\n
“When temperatures drop this winter, no one should have to worry about if
\nthey can afford to keep their home warm,” said Lydia Mihalik, director of
\nthe Department of Development. “Every year, this program serves as a
\nlifeline for thousands of Ohioans, ensuring they can stay safe and
\ncomfortable during our coldest months.”<\/p>\n
Households serviced by a Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
\n(PUCO)-regulated utility must sign up for PIPP or another payment plan if
\nthere is still an outstanding balance on the utility bill after receiving
\nassistance.<\/p>\n
Ohioans can start their application online but must schedule an appointment
\nwith their local energy assistance provider to complete the application.
\nDepending on the agency, the appointment may be in person, on the phone, or
\nremotely. The application and list of providers can be found online at
\nenergyhelp.ohio.gov.<\/p>\n
Clients need to bring copies of the following documents to their
\nappointment:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Copies of their most recent energy bills, if available
\n\u2022 A list of all household members and proof of income for the last 30 days
\nor 12 months for each member
\n\u2022 Proof of U.S. citizenship or legal residency for all household members
\n\u2022 Proof of disability, if applicable
\nFor more information about the Winter Crisis Program, visit
\nenergyhelp.ohio.gov.<\/p>\n
The Ohio Department of Development empowers communities to succeed by
\ninvesting in Ohio’s people, places, and businesses. Learn more about our
\nwork at development.ohio.gov.<\/p>\n
###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nearly 77,000 households served last year The Ohio Department of Development and Pathway Inc. wants to help alleviate the burden of costly energy bills this winter and keep more of Ohio’s families warm. From Nov. 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025, income-eligible Ohioans can receive one-time assistance with their home energy bill through the Department […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[250],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[264],"class_list":["post-14447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14447"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14448,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14447\/revisions\/14448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14447"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=14447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}