Group Part of National Drive to Add Funding for LIHEAP
The Woodlands, Texas – As record
summer heat waves deliver higher energy bills to homes nationwide, customer
advocates are heading to Congress Wednesday to urge continued strong funding for
the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
Entergy Corporation employees,
advocates and LIHEAP recipients are taking part in the National Fuel Funds
Network’s Washington Action Day for LIHEAP to increase awareness of the federal
program’s importance and need for strong funding.
Locally, Paula Odom, Entergy Texas,
Inc. customer relations specialist in The Woodlands is in attendance at this
year’s event, along with Mary Reed who works with the Montgomery County
Emergency Assistance organization. Another area advocate who will attend LIHEAP
events is Lynne Cooke, chief executive officer of Sheltering Arms Senior
Services in Houston.
LIHEAP is the primary tool to help
working-poor families, especially those with preschoolers, elderly or disabled
individuals who are struggling to pay for their heating and cooling costs.
It is the first LIHEAP Action Day
held in the summer, a move meant to help draw attention to the needs of at-risk
Americans in warm-weather states. Nationwide, only about 10 percent of LIHEAP
funds are devoted to summer cooling programs. Federal statistics show
temperatures are running above normal throughout much of the nation so far in
2010.
“Extreme summertime heat is America’s
number one weather-related killer. High temperatures killed more people between
1994 and 2003 than tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and lightning combined,” said
Patty Riddlebarger, director of corporate social responsibility at Entergy.
“When you add that physical danger to
the economic problems facing millions who’ve lost jobs over the last two years,
the need to strengthen LIHEAP is greater than ever. It is one of the most
efficient and effective programs the government has to help people in crisis,”
Riddlebarger said.
“We are urging Congress to budget at
least $5.1 billion for LIHEAP during federal fiscal year 2011 and reauthorize
the program through 2014,” Riddlebarger said. Funding for LIHEAP has been at
$5.1 billion since the recession hit with full force in the fall of 2008.
Although the number of households
helped by LIHEAP increased in 2009, the federal program still reaches only one
out of every five eligible households across the nation. In Mississippi, 17
percent of eligible households receive help from LIHEAP, 19 percent in
Louisiana, 24 percent in Arkansas and just 10 percent in Texas.
“Local administrators are reporting
there’s a growing need. At current funding levels, LIHEAP can only serve about
20 percent of those who need help, so there is significant unmet need out
there,” Riddlebarger said. “Releasing LIHEAP contingency funds now would mean
help for thousands more families.”
Other Action Day sponsors include the
Edison Electric Institute and the American Gas Association.
Entergy Texas, Inc. provides
electricity to 400,000 customers in 27 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy
Corporation. Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged
primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations.
Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of
electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in
the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers
in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of
more than $10 billion and more than 15,000 employees.
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entergytexas.com
Twitter: @EntergyMediaTX
