Power costs a ‘major crisis’ in Montana – Speakers at energy conference say aid program needs coordination

Skyrocketing winter power bills are a "major crisis" for many Montanans this year, and the state needs to coordinate programs helping the needy pay for and/or reduce these bills, speakers at a consumer energy conference said Monday.

By MIKE DENNISON
Tribune Capitol Bureau

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040203/localnews/340832.html

Programs that help people pay their energy bills also aren’t just good social policy — they’re good business, a consultant told the crowd at the Helena conference sponsored by AARP Montana.

Roger Colton, a Boston-area attorney who consults on energy consumer issues, said if low-earning households can keep more of their income rather than pay a bigger share for power bills, they’ll spend that money locally.

"I’ve seen (major utilities) going around a state making presentations to Rotary Clubs on home-energy assistance programs," he said.

Colton said Montana has a huge "energy affordability gap," meaning thousands of households are paying energy bills that, as a percentage of their annual income, are far above the average for all households.

He estimated that for the 2001-2002 winter, this gap topped $40 million for Montana households earning at or below the federal poverty level, which is about $23,000 for a family of three.

Natural gas prices spiked that winter, but they’re just as high or higher for most households this winter in Montana. Electric rates also are up this year for many Montana households, and a harsher winter has meant higher consumption and higher bills.

Judy Smith, a low-income advocate from Missoula, was blunt in her assessment of the problem facing poorer households in Montana this winter.

"We’re talking about a major crisis," she said. "We’re talking about people who are going to lose shelter. … They literally can’t pay their bills, and they’re losing shelter."

Colton said Montana families below 50 percent of the poverty level can end up paying as much as 40 percent of their income for home energy costs. The average amount for middle-income homes is about 6 percent, he said.

Montana has a number of programs operated by government agencies and utilities, to help poor households pay winter power bills and/or conserve energy consumption.

These programs need more money, but they also could benefit from statewide coordination, instead of the current scatter-shot approach, said Barbara Alexander, a consumer-affairs consultant from Maine.

"They’re not as well-funded as they should be, and they are very low in enrollment," she said. "You really don’t have a statewide program in Montana."

AARP, which represents people 50 or older and has nearly 140,000 members in Montana, hired Alexander to study Montana energy-assistance programs.

Those programs include the federally funded Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) and "universal system benefits" funds, which are financed by a small charge on all consumers’ bills. Individual utilities spend a portion of USB funds on low-income assistance.

Alexander said Montana should have a statewide coordinator for all of these programs. The coordinator should determine the specific needs for energy assistance and then help design a program that best meets those needs, she said.

"There has been no determination of the needs, or any targeting of those needs," Alexander said.

She also said Montana’s programs have no guidelines on "internal administrative expenses" by utilities or rural co-ops that run the programs, or direction on how to publicize the programs and get eligible people signed up.

Colton said in addition to the energy-aid programs, other steps can be taken to help Montanans facing high power bills this winter and in the future.

For example, many low-income households are not using the "earned-income credit" on federal tax returns — and doing so could increase available income for heating bills, he said.

Also, builders who make affordable housing should hook up with energy-conservation folks, to ensure that new housing is well-insulated and uses as little energy as possible, Colton said.