Tough times turning out the lights.

Byline: SCOTT MABEN The Register-Guard

The winter chill is spurring thousands of Lane County households to scramble in search of financial aid to keep the heat on.

But not nearly enough families that need help paying utility bills are getting it because funding is too scarce, said Terry McDonald, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County.

"For every one family we serve, we're turning another nine away," McDonald said. "It just isn't getting any better."

With the coldest weather yet to come, St. Vincent de Paul already is receiving about 300 calls for help a month.

"We can help about 30," McDonald said. "And the bills at this point are not enormous. We're talking in the range of $80 to $150 that they're getting behind on. But if we're starting this early, this is not a good sign."

One of the families the agency helped Thursday was Allison and John Walton and their three children, ages 14, 10 and 7. The Springfield couple both lost their jobs over the summer and fell behind on rent and utility payments.

The Springfield Utility Board shut off power to their house Thursday morning due to a delinquent account of $230.

"This is the first time it's been this bad," Allison Walton said. "I never thought I'd be at this point in my life."

She asked for help from their church, which gave them $100. Then Allison heard about St. Vincent de Paul's program, which kicked in another $130.

"I didn't even know they did this," she said. "It was the fastest response we've had from anybody. We've been denied food stamps, we've been denied an (Oregon Health Plan) medical card twice. It's just been: I'm sorry, we can't help you."

Her husband rushed the money to SUB, which restored their power early in the evening. But the couple expects the next utility bill any day now, and the night's are getting colder. They have a wood stove, but no stove pipe.

"We keep our baseboard heaters on the lowest setting," Allison Walton said. "The kids walk around in their sweats with jackets on. Our house is cold most of the time. We live on the bare minimum heat."

Most utilities offer low-income households some temporary rate relief, usually a one-time credit of $100 to $300. Those programs typically are supported by a combination of rate revenues and donations from customers.

SUB's Project SHARE usually takes in $20,000 in customer contributions a year, said Mary Ann Rhodes, customer service director. For 2003, the utility board proposes matching those donations up to $30,000, which would be three times more than this year, Rhodes said.

The program offers customers a credit of $100 to help them avoid seeing their power shut off.

"Someone must be up for disconnection before they are eligible," Rhodes said. "By then, we've done a lot of referrals to other social service agencies, and we've worked with them on payment arrangements."

Still, demand for help by people in crisis surpasses available resources "for us and everyone in the community," she said.

Struggling households swamp local sources of assistance even after federal aid pours into the community. Those dollars from Washington just don't last long, said Mary Ellen Bennett, low-income energy assistance coordinator for the Lane County Human Services Commission.

The commission recently received $891,000 as the first installment of the season from the federal Low-Income Energy Assistance Program. Every cent already has been spent to help more than 3,000 households with seniors or disabled residents cover their heating costs, Bennett said.

"It just went lickety-split," she said. "We have no idea if and when we'll receive a second allocation, and we really need it badly."

Last year the county received almost $1.5 million in LIEAP funding, starting with $666,000 in the fall. It was enough to help all of the senior and disabled households seeking help - always the agency's first priority - plus a few others, Bennett said.

Many more households, she said, await help. They include single-parent families, the unemployed and those facing high medical bills.

"There appears to be a tremendous need for energy assistance this winter," she said. "I'm getting lots and lots of calls every day from households facing shutoff notices."

At least 25,000 households in the county qualify for LIEAP funds based on income alone, Bennett said.

"Even with a mild winter, I'm sure we will have many people left unserved."

McDonald said more churches, social service agencies and community organizations need to step up and help, if they aren't already.

"Some of our allies dropped out of the picture," he said. "We're seeing an alarming falloff in who's able to help."

In the Eugene Water & Electric Board's service area, the picture is a bit brighter because of the $2.5 million the utility dedicated this year to fund an expanded menu of programs for low-income customers, McDonald said.

For example, EWEB pumped $1.8 million into this year's Energy Share program, which is administered by St. Vincent de Paul. Several hundred thousand dollars have not yet been spent and may be carried over into 2003.

"In the world of emergency assistance, there's always good news and bad news," McDonald said. "The good news is that EWEB continues to step to the plate on their Energy Share program. The bad news is there's so many other places where the boat is leaking, we're kind of sinking down."

UTILITY BILL ASSISTANCE

Low-Income Energy Assistance Program: Federal aid disbursed through the Lane County Human Services Commission. Qualified low-income households can receive up to $320 per year to put toward energy costs such as electric, gas, oil, propane and firewood. For details and how to apply, call 682-3835.

Residential Energy Assistance Challenge: Also administered by the Human Services Commission, REACH incorporates energy and water use education, audits for weatherization needs, co-payments on bills and referrals to additional community resources. It's available to a limited number of households served by the Eugene Water & Electric Board, Pacific Power, Emerald People's Utility District and Blachly-Lane Electric Cooperative. Call 682-3378.

Energy Share: EWEB's primary energy assistance program, administered by the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County. Call 689-6747.

Emerald Rate Assistance Program: Provides $200 per household for qualified Emerald People's Utility District customers. Administered by the Human Services Commission. Call 682-3378.

Helping Hands: Another EPUD program. Call 746-1583.

Project SHARE: For Springfield Utility Board customers. Administered by Catholic Community Services of Lane County. Call 747-0221.

Lane Electric Cooperative's Member Assistance Program: Administered by the Salvation Army. Call 484-1151.

Blachly-Lane Energy Share: For Blachly-Lane Electric Cooperative customers. Administered by the Salvation Army. Call 688-8711.

SOS Energy Assistance Program: For Central Lincoln Public Utility District customers. Administered by Siuslaw Area Women's Center. Call 997-2816.

Oregon HEAT: The Oregon Home Energy Assistance Team helps low-income Pacific Power customers in the Cottage Grove, Creswell, Lowell, Junction City and Coburg areas. Call the Human Services Commission at 682-3378.

Oregon Energy Assistance Program: Available to Pacific Power customers who receive a shutoff notice. Call the Human Services Commission.

Gas Assistance Program: Bill payment assistance available for NW Natural customers. Seniors in Eugene call 682-5318. Seniors in Springfield call 682-3500. All others call 345-3642 in Eugene, 747-8349 in Springfield or 942-2176 in Cottage Grove.

CAPTION(S):

Allison Walton and her three children, including Dakota, 7, (left) struggled without electricity for most of Thursday until donations paid their overdue utility bill.