With winter certainly coming but no clear path yet to ending the government shutdown, states are sending out a SOS to keep millions of Americans from freezing soon.
The National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), representing state directors of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), said last week it's urging electric and gas utilities nationwide to immediately suspend service disconnections for nonpayment until federal LIHEAP funds are released and households regain access to financial assistance.
House Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) and 53 other representatives also penned a letter to major utility companies to suspend late penalties and utility shutoffs for federal employees and contractors while the government is closed. Environmental nonprofit Sierra club joined the pleas for utilities to keep the power on for low-income Americans.
The shutdown, which began Oct. 1 and is on pace to become the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, has delayed the release of energy aid, leaving some of the nation’s poorest families without the support they rely on to heat their homes as colder weather approaches, NEADA said. At the same time, electricity and natural gas prices have risen sharply, placing additional strain on already stretched household budgets, it said.
