The Subsidy component is designed to provide eligible households with a one-time payment to the household’s energy provider. Eligibility is based on household income, size, liquid resources, and responsibility for home energy costs. Benefits are calculated based on household size, income, and the primary energy source to ensure that households with the highest energy cost and the lowest incomes, taking into account household size, will receive the highest benefit.

Outreach activities for the Subsidy component are critical. It is important that information regarding the Subsidy component be available to low-income consumers. CAA’s will be provided with flyers that provide limited program information. These flyers should be distributed to Senior Citizen Centers, Head Start Centers, state offices, community centers, and other places in the community where low-income people are likely to see them. CAA’s will also be provided with posters printed by the Cabinet. These posters should be placed in DCBS, Employment Services, and Social Services local offices. Posters should also be displayed in county courthouses, Extension Service Offices, Post Offices, Senior Citizens Centers, Head Start Centers, and other non-profit social service offices, such as Red Cross, Salvation Army, Legal Aid, etc. Grocery stores, Laundromats, and other stores in low-income communities should be contacted to determine if they will display the poster.

Applications must be completed utilizing a face-to-face interview with the applicant or the authorized representative following the alphabetic schedule provided in the appendix. Every effort should be made to accommodate consumers who cannot apply on their scheduled date. Home visits may be made by workers to take applications in accordance with local agency procedures, if an authorized representative cannot be located. However, the county office or application center must remain open with staff available to take applications during regular office hours. It is recommended that workers make every attempt to locate authorized representatives to make application on behalf of those homebound or handicapped consumers unable to come into the office. Agencies may request a waiver to complete the application process by phone.

Households may reapply for assistance even if the household had been previously denied. However, once a case determination has been made on an application, the worker must complete a new application each time the household reapplies.

The Subsidy component application period will begin on the first Monday of November and end in December. (See Alphabet Schedule in the appendix.) The application period will be divided into specific dates for households determined by the alphabetical listing of the last name of the head of household. All program advertising will contain this information. Agencies will accept applications from households applying on other days whenever possible. Days not assigned a letter of the alphabet can be used for home visits or scheduled appointments from prior days if not used as agency holidays. The application process begins when the consumer registers on or before the last day of the program. No applications can be completed more than 5 working days after the end of the program.

To be eligible for Subsidy benefits, a household must meet all regular program eligibility requirements:

• make and complete an application;
• be responsible for home energy costs, directly or as an undesignated portion of their rent;
• have a combined household income, for the calendar month prior to the month of application, not in excess of 110% of the federal poverty level as listed in the Income Eligibility Guidelines;
• live in Kentucky when the application is made and apply in the county of residence; and
• not have liquid resources in excess of $1,500.00 ($4,000.00 if resources are being used for living expenses due to catastrophic illness).

See the Benefit Matrix.

The level of benefit provided to a household will be determined on the primary fuel type for home heating, the household’s percent of poverty, and the household’s average energy burden.

Each application will be approved or denied, and the consumer will be given the gold copy of the application and instructed to keep that copy.

Each household must select the vendor. A household may have benefits applied to a secondary fuel source. Due to many of the uncertainties in the program, many households may want to have the benefit applied to their electric bill, even if a bulk fuel is the primary energy source. Applications still need to be coded with the Primary Energy source, even if the benefit is applied to the electric as the secondary energy source.

8. Zero Income Households in Subsidized Housing

If the household lives in subsidized housing and is considered to have zero income by the housing program, the household must prove that they are responsible for payment of energy cost.

The selection of the vendor in the Subsidy program will be the responsibility of the consumer.

For non-metered fuels, each agency will advertise for vendors for the Subsidy program. A vendor information sheet will be provided and/or vendor meeting will be held in each county to explain the program operation and the requirements of vendors participating in the program. If a vendor expresses an interest in participating in the program, the vendor must provide a price for a specific amount of fuel including any and all delivery charges before placed on an approved vendor list. The consumer can then make an informed decision regarding which vendor to select. If an agency has a reason to exclude a vendor from participation in the program, the vendor shall be notified, in writing.

Each agency must follow the mandated procedures for the recruitment of vendors for the Subsidy program. Advertising must be as follows:

• Ads to solicit vendors for the Subsidy program MUST be through the mass media (ex. newspaper, cable access, etc.) CAAs may chose to use one ad for Subsidy and another for Crisis or may utilize one ad for both components.
• Vendors for the Subsidy component must be informed that they must provide fuel at the price that the vendor has established and understands that consumers will select the vendor from the Approved Vendor List.
• Each vendor must sign the Vendor Agreement (copy in Forms Section), prior to being accepted as a Vendor for the program.
• In addition to advertising for vendors, each agency shall contact vendors that participated in the program during the last contract period that are in good standing. Each agency will be required to document the number of complaints received, or other reporting/service problems that will remove a vendor from the list of previous vendors in good standing.
• Each vendor MUST provide the agency with a telephone number where they can be contacted.
• Each potential vendor must complete and sign a vendor application that requires the disclosure of the official name of vendor, business address of vendor, set price for delivered fuel expressed in common units, and the set price for fuel if picked up by the consumer, expressed in common units AND only if applicable.
• Each CAA shall also recruit minority-owned businesses as vendors in compliance with agency policies and the requirements in the Subcontract Agreement.

Applicants will select vendors at the time of application. Vendors will be paid by one-party checks. The vendor will contact the consumer(s) to make arrangements for delivery. Upon delivery of fuel, the vendor must present a copy of the voucher/purchase order to receive payment.

When kerosene is provided as the benefit, agencies are encouraged to monitor vendors that establish a line of credit to ensure the credit is properly documented and that purchases applied to the credit are only for kerosene.