Legislation Passes to make utilities more affordable for Illinois’ households with Low Incomes
LIHEAP and PIPP applications available September 1st at Community Action Partnership of Central Illinois

[August 17, 2021]   On Thursday, July 29th, Governor Pritzker signed SB265 into law expanding the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and increasing access to the Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP).

The PIPP is a companion program to LIHEAP which addresses utility affordability by allowing qualified participants to pay no more than 6% of their monthly income for electric and gas utility services as well as receive forgiveness of 1/12 of their total utility debt for each on time monthly payment.

According to Larry Dawson, President & CEO of the Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies (IACAA), “this new law will allow many of our most vulnerable households to afford their utilities and reduce the burden of administering the program by the local Community Action Agencies.” Dawson went on to state that “the legislation that was signed into law resulted from many months of negotiations among a number of Community Action Agencies, energy affordability advocates, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity staff and representatives of large regulated utilities.”

Community Action Agencies (CAAs) that primarily administer the LIHEAP and PIPP programs in Illinois are federally designated to locally address the root causes of poverty. In Illinois there are 35 agencies that administer the LIHEAP and PIPP programs covering all 102 counties of the state with these critical services.

Collectively, CAAs in Illinois provide vital services to more than one million individuals on an annual basis. Besides human services, many of the CAAs in Illinois are engaged in community and economic development activities that range from affordable housing creation, housing rehabilitation, supporting local businesses and employing small contractors. These agencies use both federal and state funding to address local poverty issues.

Applications for LIHEAP and PIPP applications are available starting on September 1, 2021. If you are interested in applying, please Google: Help Illinois Families or call 1-877-411-9276 to find the Community Action Agency serving your county.

[Larry Dawson Jr. Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies]