Community Partnership Action, Spire Energy offer winter heating assistance

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- With winter coming, local homeowners and renters will start to see an increase in their energy bills.

Energy costs typically rise in the winter due to heating, increased indoor time and increased use of hot water, among other factors.

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Manager (LIHEAP), Heidi Surritt, said homes that are not energy efficient can play a role in higher heating bills.

"You have drafty homes, and that tends to make your utility bills go up. So over the years, it gets worse," she said. "Maybe your bills are higher, you know, from one year to the next."

Community Action Partnership of Greater St. Joseph (CAPSTJOE) offers the LIHEAP program. It serves as a one-time state credit to apply as payment for a primary heating source.

CAPSTJOE also offers $800 in crisis funds for anyone whose service was turned off or is in threat of disconnection.

Surritt said residents can contact suppliers to get cold-weather quotes.

"There's a cold weather rule in Missouri from November to March, so that makes payment plans a little more flexible and we can use that," she said. "They'll take a lesser amount to keep our service on or get it reconnected during those months."

Spire Energy also has the Dollar Help program, which invites customers to donate a dollar or more.

Vonda Cotton, Spire community outreach specialist, said the program has a positive impact on families.

"Families with small children, seniors, so on and so forth. So it's a really good program where customers can go in and donate that extra dollar or more," she said.

Surritt said CAPSTJOE's LIHEAP program and Spire's Dollar Help program are used together to help households in need.

"If you qualify for the LIHEAP program, you would also qualify to get those funds," she said. "So we tend to reserve those funds for people who have already lost gas, heat and we try to use those with our LIHEAP funds to get the heat back on for the winter."

Cotton shared tips on how households can reduce their heating costs.

"I would say definitely looking to...uh, covering those thresholds is keeping the thermostat at a set temperature all year round or how comfortable it is for you," she said. "Look at weatherizing your home and look at maybe even a smart thermostat or some type of smart devices and...making sure you're keeping tabs on your usage."

Surritt said CAPSTJOE has additional resources and can point you in the right direction.

"We have lots of resources that we can use, and we can put you in contact with anyone," she said. "If we're not able to help, we can put you in contact with the right people."

For more information on LIHEAP and the Dollar Help program, visit the CAPSTJOE and Spire websites.