Winter Fuel Assistance Program is Accepting Applications

A DCHS CONNECT NEWS HIGHLIGHT 

October 28, 2021--The City of Alexandria’s Department of Community and Human Services is accepting applications for the Fuel Assistance Program through Friday, November 12.

Fuel assistance helps eligible households with the costs of heating their homes. Besides paying for heating bills, aid can also be used for furnace restarts, repair of heating equipment, delivery of oil, late dues, installation charges, and connection or re-connection fees.

“The program can pay for either Washington Gas bills, if the house is heated with gas, or pay for Virginia Dominion Energy bills if the house is heated with electricity,” said Bobbie Stern, a benefits specialist at DCHS. “If you heat the house with Washington Gas and are behind on your electric bill, we can pay your gas bill, but we can’t pay your electric (bill); the program pays for whichever utility is used to heat the house.”

In order to be eligible for fuel assistance, certain criteria must be met including income limits for the number of people in the home. Benefits are based on household size, income and type of fuel. The income and resources of all household members must be verified by the Virginia Department of Social Services. The Department will process the application and calculate the eligibility and benefit level as soon as all requested information is provided. If approved, clients will receive an approval notice in December which will include the amount of their benefits. Authorizations for deliveries or service will be sent to vendors in December, too.

The program will start paying for heating utility bills in early January. Eligible households may also receive assistance with the repair and replacement of inoperable heating equipment.

In most cases, payments are made directly to the energy provider. However, there are rare situations when the beneficiary will be responsible for delivering that payment to the provider.

“There are some apartment complexes in the City of Alexandria that have a subcontractor that collects their utility bill, so what happens in that situation is that instead of the funds being paid directly to Washington Gas or Dominion Energy, those funds will go directly to the client in the form of a check, and then the client would have to disburse that payment to their apartment office or to the subcontractor.” Stern explained.

Eligible residents can apply online at Commonhelp.virginia.gov or by calling the Enterprise customer call center at 1.855.635.4370.  Applications can also be obtained and submitted at the Department of Human Services, 2525 Mount Vernon Avenue.

For more information, call 703.746.5700. Learn more about the fuel assistance program as well as other energy aid programs at Alexandriava.gov/49634.