Gov. Chris Sununu told reporters the Legislature’s ‘bad’ design led to very few applying to get part of a one-time, $35 million program for lower-income families to receive help paying their winter energy bills.
Gov. Chris Sununu told reporters the Legislature’s ‘bad’ design led to very few applying to get part of a one-time, $35 million program for lower-income families to receive help paying their winter energy bills.
CONCORD — The state’s one-time $35 million energy assistance program was a “bad idea” that has spent less than 2% of its funding because it was too bureaucratic and made applicants go through a slow income-verification process, Gov. Chris Sununu said Wednesday.
In response to some of the nation’s highest energy prices, lawmakers with bipartisan support used state budget surplus money last September to make an estimated 50,000 lower-income households eligible for aid to offset some of their bills.
With the program ending at the end of this month, only 950 households have received one-time heating assistance of $450, while a slightly smaller number got $200 off their electric bills, according to state officials.
That represents about 1.9% of eligible households.
Department of Energy Policy Director Josh Elliott said the program has spent about 1.7% — slightly less than $600,000 — on benefits. The deadline to apply is April 30, and all money unspent after June 30 goes back to the state treasury.
“These are all the things we warned the Legislature about when we tried to be too cute and the smartest guy in the room without understanding the operating challenges. That is when government failures appear,” Sununu told reporters.
Originally, Sununu had asked lawmakers to spend $60 million in surplus by sending almost every residential ratepayer a $100 check.
The Legislature instead restricted grants to a group of lower-income households that made too much money to qualify for the long-running federal Low Income Heating and Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
The newly qualified group made between 60% of the average mean family income ($74,841 for a family of four) up to 75% ($93,676 for the same-sized family).
No time to apply online
Energy Commissioner Jared Chicoine said his agency moved within a month to approve contracts for the state’s Community Action Programs (CAPs) to offer this assistance, since they administer LIHEAP benefits for the state.
The CAPs had to administer a slow “paper-based” application process that required citizens to provide detailed income tax and other financial information to qualify.
“This was necessary to protect against fraud and maintain integrity,” Chicoine said.
Low-income families can apply for LIHEAP online, but Chicoine said it would have taken six months for the state to create a web-based application for this one-time benefit.
”Bad idea, bad program”
Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington, D-Concord, asked why state officials failed to “sound the alarm” that the program wasn’t going well.
Warmington also questioned whether the state should have done more to market the program and generate more interest in it.
Sununu broke in, “It was prescribed by the Legislature, they came up with the idea and it was a terrible idea. We were stuck with a bad idea and a bad program.”
Sununu adopted a positive tone when he signed the energy aid bill (HB 2023) last September in the midst of his reelection campaign.
“New Hampshire just delivered the largest energy relief package this state has ever seen, helping families in need this winter — using our state surplus funds,” Sununu said.
“While this final legislation looks a little different from what we originally proposed, this is a big win, and I’d like to thank Speaker (Sherman) Packard and Senate President (Chuck) Morse for getting this across the finish line. Thanks to strong fiscal management, New Hampshire is able to invest state-surplus funds to help families get through this winter.”
In December, Sununu said there here had been “little uptake” to that point for the benefit, despite large increases in heating costs.
Rather than send checks directly to eligible households, the one-time program sent the money to energy suppliers on behalf of the customers.
Sununu said he was surprised after fuel vendors told him that many families turned down offers for the help.
“I was shocked how many people were aware they could apply but they did just did not want the assistance,” Sununu said.
Chicoine said CAP staffers worked overtime during the winter months to deal with this program and LIHEAP, which has already given aid to 4,000 more families than a year ago.
He also said the agency did radio advertising and had flyers placed in utility customer bills to try to spread the word about this new offering.
Families eligible for the one-time grants typically don’t qualify for other public assistance programs, so they had little experience in seeking them, he said.
Sununu said gas and oil prices have declined since their winter spike, but he would be open to offering assistance to needy families if necessary next year.
