SAN ANTONIO — This summer saw big energy bills. So many people needed help paying large bills, the Texas Utility Help Program that opened in July to provide relief quickly closed because of high demand. The program reopened Friday, but funding is limited so you will need to apply quickly.
The Texas Utility Help Program will pay up to $2,000 dollars in energy bills including electricity, natural gas, and propane plus $600 for water bills including wastewater bills. Priority is given to those who were disconnected or at risk of disconnection for water bills.
The money can pay for past due bills and future bills. You do not need to be late on utility payments to apply. All approved utility payments will be sent directly to the utility company on the applicant’s behalf.
The application is open to renters, homeowners, and mobile homeowners. Your household income must be at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty level and at least one member of the household must be a U.S. Citizen or Qualified Alien for you to qualify.
You can only apply for the program online. You can call 1-855-566-2057 for help, but you cannot submit an application over the phone. You will need to provide several documents including ID, proof of citizenship, utility bills, and income documentation.
This relief money is not expected to last long. The program closed after one week when it originally opened in July.
“We initially received thousands of applications. This was hot summer,” said Kristina Tirlon from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. “We all realize that. There were a lot of individuals affected by that. I just don’t know that everybody realized exactly what that demand was going to be like. Fortunately, we were able to reopen.”
The Texas Homeowner Assistance Program is also providing utility relief, but homeownership is required along with income requirements of 100% of the area median income or 100% of the U.S. median income, whichever is greater. Homeowners must have also experienced hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. Past-due bills are required, but help is available for electricity, gas, propane, water, and wastewater. Assistance is capped at $10,000.
If you want to give money to help others with their energy bills, the application to donate your CPS Energy credit coming in December is now open. HEB and USAA both opted out of their credits giving about $650,000 dollars to help pay for high bills in our community. If you want to keep your credit, you do not need to do anything. It will automatically appear on your December bill.