PPL Electric helps more than 6,700 customers in Pennsylvania with financial hardships
PPL Electric Utilities said its customers have received more than $5.1 million in utility payments through the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), and the company is encouraging other eligible customers facing financial challenges to apply.
ERAP, a federal program administered by the state, helps renters facing financial hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides qualifying households with monetary assistance for monthly rent, utility bills, fees, and past-due balances. To date, more than 6,700 PPL Electric Utilities customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania have received assistance through this program.
“With energy supply costs rising, and the winter likely to cause increased energy use, we understand that our customers could potentially face financial struggles,” PPL Electric Utilities Manager of Regulatory Programs and Business Services Melinda Stumpf said. “We want to ensure our customers that we are here to help during these difficult times. There are multiple programs available to those who qualify, and I encourage customers who need assistance to connect with us and see what’s available to them.”
To qualify for ERAP, a household must be responsible for paying rent on a residential property and must meet the following criteria: one or more people within the household qualify for unemployment benefits, had a decrease in income or experienced other financial hardships due to the pandemic; the household can show risk of losing their home or apartment; and the household has an income at or below 80 percent of the county’s median income.
PPL officials note that additional funding and assistance programs remain available to eligible customers. One of them is the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) — a federal program that provides grants to income-eligible households to help with home energy bills or to pay off past-due balances.
PPL also offers the OnTrack payment plan, a program with lower fixed monthly payments and debt forgiveness. There is also Operation HELP, a fuel fund supported by donations from PPL Electric Utilities employees and customers that provides grants to help customers with their energy bills. In addition, the WRAP program that offers free energy-efficiency products, such as LED light bulbs, to help customers reduce energy use and lower bills.
