In the first two weeks of New York State's enrollment campaign for the Energy Affordability Program (EAP), which began Sept. 15, 21,586 more households applied. Households with income at or below the median receive a monthly discount on electric and gas bills. Applications are accepted at ny.gov/EAP.
New York State is running an enrollment campaign for the Energy Affordability Program (EAP), which cuts electric and gas bills every month for low- and middle-income households. In the two weeks after the campaign began on Sept. 15, 21,586 households newly applied. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the figures on Sept. 30. Applications are accepted online at ny.gov/EAP, and the announcement did not give a separate application deadline.
Eligibility standards were broadened in January this year. A household qualifies if its income is at or below the state median income or, for those living in New York City and Westchester, Suffolk and Nassau counties, at or below the median income for that area. The state estimates that up to 2.5 million additional households are eligible. The benefit is a monthly bill discount, generally aimed at keeping a household's electric and gas costs from exceeding 6% of its income. The state says bills can fall by up to $500 a year.
Some households are enrolled automatically. These include households receiving Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) benefits or public assistance from the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA). Households receiving SNAP (food stamps), Medicaid, SSI or Lifeline, however, are not enrolled automatically because of federal rules and must apply themselves and submit proof of eligibility.
By service area, Con Edison territory had the most applications with 8,460 households, followed by National Grid with 7,098, NYSEG with 1,939 and RG&E with 1,196. Central Hudson (789 households), National Fuel Gas (NFG) (801), PSEG (698) and O&R (605) also received applications. According to the state Department of Public Service, the campaign's outreach reached more than 1 million residents, and ny.gov/EAP received nearly 200,000 visits.
The state will also continue on-site outreach events through the fall. The program is separate from the $10 billion in energy rebate checks being mailed in stages from Sept. 21 through December. The Public Service Commission has also begun deliberating on an "energy affordability index," which looks at whether bills exceed 6% of income (3% for electricity and 3% for gas).