Helping to Cut Costs

Details: Created on Friday, 14 December 2012 16:53; Written by Brian Stone

AROUND THE NEK - Green Mountain Power has started a new energy assistance program to aid low income Vermonters with paying their electric bill. Those who qualify for the program will get a 25% reduction on their electric bill for the first 600 kilowatt hours used each month, creating over $300 in savings.

Green Mountain Power currently covers about half of the Northeast Kingdom. With the new program, some are hoping GMP will expand to their towns. Olivine Perreault, a 95-year-old Lyndon resident, is one of those people.

"My light bill will be anywhere between 85 and 95 dollars a month," Perreault said. "When you live alone, that's a lot of money for just your lights."

While all Green Mountain Power customers can apply for the program, the Area Agency on Aging sees this program as a great benefit for the elderly in the area. "That allows them to make fewer difficult decisions on purchasing medication and paying for fuel and paying for electricity," said Lisa Villes, a representative for the Area Agency on Aging. "Resources have been cut for programs that help seniors. Every little bit helps, when you are on a fixed income."

Cutting down on heating cost helps to eliminate some of those difficult decisions as well, which is why the Area Agency on Aging also provides connections to heating assistance programs, One such assistance program, run by the Northeast Employment and Training Organization, provides free weatherization services, including insulation installation, weather-stripping, and putting jackets on water heaters.

"You're losing heat from the house, cold air is getting in, so air sealant is the biggest thing we do," said Tony Valdez, a NETO crew member. Similar weatherization projects cost thousans of dollars, and the savings to those who qualify for the program are tremendous. "It's a big help for these people. They need it. We're happy to do it."

While these services and others are offered frequently, not everyone takes advantage of them.

"I said the bottom line is you can't afford to stay where you are living," said Monica Holcomb, a case manager at the Area Agency on Aging, in regards to a client at the case managers weekly meeting. "She said, 'Oh, this is where I grew up, this was my parents' home, I'm not leaving.' So that's what we deal with."

There is an agreement among all of the case managers that there is an over-reliance on government assistance programs, but that's not necessarily the fault of the people using those programs. Connie Simons, another case manager, believes that the dependency comes from the fact that there is no clear distinction between what is a necessity and what is a luxury. "Some of them can't work at it," Simons said, "but a lot of them won't work at it, and they know the system. They know how to do it."

For more information about the assistance programs or how to apply you can visit the Area Agency on Aging's website.