Provincial Energy Fund

1
Provincial Energy Fund

• Affordable and Adequate Energy is a Necessity of
  Life

2
Agenda

• The Ask A coordinated Energy Assistance Safety
  Net
• Provincial Commitment to Municipal Partnership
• Actual Funding Allocation
• Criteria and Guidelines Emergency Energy Fund
• Accountability and Performance Measurement
• Energy Emergency Fund When Theory Becomes
  Practice
• Catchment Variance, Loan vs. Grant and Equity
• Criteria, Assistance Access
• Follow the Money
• Why havent More Communities Exhausted Funding?
• The Homeless Prevention Irony
• How Effective is the EEF at Addressing Energy
  Burden?
• Security Deposits and Reconnection Fees
• 3 Program Coordination Keys
• Fourth Element in Coordination Strategy
• The City of Hamilton An Emerging Best Practices
  Model

3
The Ask A Coordinated Province-wide Energy
Assistance Safety Net

• In February 2004 STW met and presented a brief to
  the Minister of Community and Social Services
  calling for the creation of a province-wide
  energy assistance fund with equitable
  province-wide criteria (for copy of brief see
  STWs website at www.sharethewarmth.org)
• The Government of Ontario was asked to dedicate
  2,000,000 for annual energy assistance services
  with municipalities and utilities required to
  match equally as a condition of access. Total
  funds available for assistance with all parties
  at the table (6,000,000) using equitable
  Province-wide criteria
• Effective LIEN lobbying led to a government
  commitment of 2,000,000.

4
Provincial Commitment to Municipal Partnership

• Province transferred funds to 47 DSSABs,
  providing less stringent guidelines to
  municipalities regarding its use than the
  Provincial Rent Bank unveiled at the same press
  conference (Rent Bank requires independent audit,
  etc)
• Funding allocation based on total population,
  with a 30 per cent weighting factor for higher
  energy costs in northern communities.
• Consequently, a significant number of community-
  based programs emerged over the last year with
  varying criteria and catchments

5
Actual Funding Allocation
6
Criteria and Guidelines Emergency Energy Fund

• Eligibility based on assessment of need and
  long-term ability to manage energy costs.
• Catchments includes low-income Ontarians,
  including social assistance recipients and people
  with fixed incomes.
• Fund not limited to electricity arrears, may also
  cover natural gas, oil and other forms of energy.
  
• Assistance can include arrears, security deposits
  (avg. security deposit 400.00) and reconnection
  fees (range from 20 to 70, or 120 plus if
  reconnection required on a weekend).
• Max. assistance per household is equivalent to
  two months energy arrears, security deposits and
  reconnection fees, as required, except under
  exceptional circumstances.
• Emergency assistance to be paid directly to the
  energy provider.

7
Accountability and Performance Measurement

• Unlike its bigger sister fund, the provincial
  rent bank which requires an independent audit
  with stringent guidelines and reporting, the
  Energy Emergency Fund provides municipalities
  with flexibility with respect to reporting and
  use of funds. Reporting requirements include
• Number of households assisted
• Type of household assisted (i.e. O.W.,
  O.D.S.P., other low income)
• Total expenditures categorized by program and
  admin
• Average dollar amount per household
• The balance in the fund at year end
• (Dec. 31, 2004 now extended until Dec. 31,
  2005)

8
Energy Emergency Fund When Theory Becomes
Practice

• In communities across the province, the energy
• assistance landscape changed radically over the
  last 10 months.
• 32 of communities are currently served by one
  program
• 34 are served by two programs
• 34 are served by three or more programs
• More programs without effective coordination has
  increased instances of abuse (agency shopping,
  double dipping, etc.) while increasing agency
  workloads and program delivery costs to prevent
  same.

9
Catchment Variance, Loan vs. Grant and Equity

• 77 of programs. assist non-socially-assisted
  low-income clients
• 6.5 programs assist OW and ODSP only
• 6.5 programs exclude OW and ODSP
• Loan vs. Grant
• 55 provide one-time grants
• 9 provide loans only
• 13 provide both loans and grants
• 23 did not provide this information
• Depending on where you live in the province,
  your ability to access energy emergency funding
  without incurring greater debt is uncertain.

10
Criteria, Assistance Access

• Though provincial guidelines were provided,
  universal criteria, equitable assistance or
  accessibility were not a requirement.
• 17 of programs required clients to be in threat
  of service term.
• 17 required income assessment to determine need
• 23 employed an application process
• 57 were willing to share criteria over the phone
  (for inquiring applicant or agency)
• 26 refused to give out criteria of any kind (for
  inquiring applicant or agency)
• 17 were unclear about the necessary criteria
• Awareness of the programs availability and
  accessibility was a challenge for
• low-income households in communities across the
  province.

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Follow the Money

• 4 of communities exhausted funds by September
• 19 of communities exhausted funds by December
• 21 of communities exhausted funds by February
• 2 of communities have yet to use any of the
  funds
• If the need is so great, why havent more
  communities exhausted funding?

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Why Havent More Communities Exhausted Funding?

• In many cases social services have elected to
  deliver EEF dollars to clients beyond their
  traditional catchments.
• Low-income clients face barriers to access in the
  form of awareness stigma and eligibility
  confusion are factors
• In some cases Social Services are requiring the
  use of alternate sources of funding first
  (corporate, charitable, etc.) before accessing
  EEF
• Should charitable or corporate dollars be used
  before government dollars? Is that not another
  form of taxation, distorting governments
  perception of the size of the need?

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The Homeless Prevention Irony

• Some large municipalities absorbed EEF into their
  Homeless Prevention Program which can often only
  be accessed once in a life time.
• If a household has accessed the program in
  previous years, it is often ineligible for EEF

14
How Effective is the EEF at Addressing Energy
Burden?

• An effectively delivered EEF is critical to
  low-income households ability to meet their
  rising energy burden because unlike charitable or
  corporate funding,
• EEF funding can be made an annual certainty.
• Reconnection fees and security deposits (combined
  can account for up to 500.00) undermine the
  EEFs ability to provide actual energy assistance
  
• - flowing fewer dollars to fewer households

15
Security Deposits and Reconnection Fees

• According to a Senior staff manager at a Big
  Six utility that recently met with LIEN Govt
  assistance for security deposits is like giving
  with one hand and taking with the other
• STW recommends a provincial clearing house for
  low-income security deposits through the use of
  modified letters of credit (businesses already
  use these instruments) to satisfy regulatory
  imperatives and to prevent abuse
• Currently, security deposits paid by EEF or
  other funders can be claimed by households by
  closing their accounts.

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3 Program Coordination Keys to Effective
Low-Income Energy/ Housing Stability

• Coordinate and Adequately Fund Energy Assistance
  Programs throughout Ont. (Equity, Access,
  Accountability)
• Coordinate Energy Assistance Clients with Highest
  Energy Burdens into Adequately Funded Energy
  Conservation Programs to ensure long term
  sustainability
• Coordinate Energy Assistance and Energy
  Conservation Programs with Rent Bank Programs to
  ensure housing stability

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Fourth Element in Coordination Strategy

• Effective regulatory and social policy measures
  which ensure an adequate and affordable energy
  supply for all Ontarians and low-income
  households specifically

18
The City of Hamilton An Emerging Best Practices
Model

• Coordinated Energy Assistance Programs
• Coordinating Energy Conservation with Energy
  Assistance Programs
• Coordinate above programs with Rent Bank programs
  

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Coordinated Programs A Best-Practices Model
City of Hamilton
Low-Income Individuals / Households (exhausted
OW or ODSP)
OW/ODSP Family with Children Under 19 Years
OW/ODSP Singles and Couples w/out Children
Share the Warmth
City of Hamilton, Public Health Community
Services Dept, OW/Special Income (through
clients caseworker)

• Max. - 600 in assistance / yr
• If client is OW/ODSP recipient application
  process ensures they have exhausted available
  support
• Direct pay to utility company stop on shut-off
  notices sent immediately
• Funding source (1) National Child Benefit
  Reinvestment Strategy (2) Water/Wastewater
  Budget (3) Provincial Energy Fund

• Singles Couples without Children
• Up to 799 in assistance / year
• Direct pay to utility company
• Funding source Water/Wastewater Budget
  (Utilities Arrears Program)
• Individual / couple assessed for referral to home
  management and budget counseling. Trusteeship
  program for benefits considered.
• Once exhausted City of Hamilton assistance
  referred to Share the Warmth

• Families with Children
• Up to 1,500 in assistance / year
• Direct pay to utility company
• Funding source National Child Benefit
  Reinvestment Funds
• Family assessed for referral to home management
  and budget counseling. Trusteeship program for
  benefits considered.
• Once exhausted City of Hamilton assistance
  referred to Share the Warmth

OW Ontario Works Program ODSP Ontario
Disability Support Program.


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Low-Income Energy Assistance/Conservation

• In partnership with Hamilton Utility Corp., STW
  is developing a made-in-Hamilton Conservation
  strategy to leverage the highest energy burdened
  low-income households into a longer-term energy
  conservation solution
• Key part of the strategy is to build into STWs
  online application an energy conservation module
  to allow on-line application and data management
  of clients in need of the conservation services

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The Rent Bank Element

• Traditionally, household energy costs were
  recognized as shelter costs.
• Rent bank programs assisted with energy costs for
  households seeking rent bank assistance but were
  often not coordinated with energy
  assistance/conservation programs
• By building a rent bank module into STWs online
  application, clients with housing stability
  issues (often the same clients seeking help at
  different times of year) can be served
  holistically with long term, added value for
  clients, reduced service delivery costs for
  agencies, more effective use of community
  resources/funds, and greater leveraging
  opportunities

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The End

• If you have questions regarding
• this presentation, please e-mail
• info_at_sharethewarmth.org