County takes over energy bill assistance program

Moving forward, as of Sept. 9, the Emergency Home Energy Assistance for the Elderly Program will now be offered by St. Johns County.

This is a change as the program was previously overseen by the Council on Aging.

The program is designed to assist elderly residents with payment of their electric bills. The service will be provided to those who are on the verge of losing electricity in their homes because of an inability to pay the monthly bills.

The program’s process works by providing payment help to the energy vendor or a landlord, if utilities are provided as part of rent. The payment is given on behalf of the eligible household.

To be eligible, the income and residency guidelines below must be met:

• Must be 60 years of age or older and be experiencing a verifiable home energy crisis
• Household income must be below 150% of the federal poverty level
• Utility bill must be past due for assistance
• Applicant must be a St. Johns County resident and cannot be a member of a group-living facility or a home where the cost of residency is subsidized through a program administered by the state
• Applicant cannot be a student living in a dormitory
• Must complete the entire EHEAP application and provide all required documentation

Each applicant/household is allowed up to $5,000 until instructed otherwise.

The program focuses solely on helping with energy bills, which means water, sewer, garbage charges, meter tampering charges and return check charges are not eligible.

The application and a list of the required documents is available at www.sjcfl.us/SocialServices/index.aspx. Applications must be printed out, completed, and mailed to 200 San Sebastian View, Suite 2300, St. Augustine, FL 32084.

For more information or questions about the application process, call 904-209-6140.