Requests up for heating-bill help

Requests for help paying heating bills are on the rise amid economic struggles and nearfreezing temperatures.

Dominion Virginia Power, the largest electric utility in Virginia with 2.3 million customers, has seen an increase in requests for help through its EnergyShare program this winter, while donations are on the decline, spokesman David Botkins said.

"The need is greater than ever before, and people are contributing less," Botkins said.

The program, which runs from November through March, has helped about 5,300 customers this winter -- well on the way to surpassing last year's nearly 8,000 people.

Donations are down 18 percent this year. The program pays for various forms of heat -- oil, coal, wood, kerosene, natural gas and electricity.

Botkins said the company has been able to meet the need of those needing assistance through EnergyShare.

"We haven't run out of money yet," he said. "There is a significant amount of winter left. We need added contributions to meet the need."

Carol Bowles, a 67-year-old retiree with multiple disabilities, was out of heating oil for his South Richmond home in December. He lives on a $911 monthly disability check.

"He was really low and really needed help," said Rita Randolph, a spokeswoman for Dominion.

EnergyShare, administered through the Richmond Salvation Army, arranged to pay for 200 gallons of heating oil for Bowles' house.

"It's a blessing to me," he said yesterday, dressed in four shirts and three layers of pants because of a serious heart condition that makes it difficult to stay warm.

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Appalachian Power spokesman Todd Burns said the company's Virginia customers are on a pace to give about the same as they did last year, about $38,700, by the time the Neighbor-to-Neighbor program stops accepting donations in March.

From November through January, Virginia customers had donated about $24,000, compared with $25,290 through January 2008. Last winter, the company received $62,665 in donations.

The company provides electricity to about 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee.

Money is distributed to social services departments to assist people in need.

Those agencies are reporting an increased demand for help with heating needs.

Dickenson County, in the heart of Virginia's Appalachian coal fields, has seen a substantial increase in the number of people asking for help with heating bills, said Lala Mullins, eligibility supervisor for the county's department of social services.

Last winter, she said, about 1,200 people asked for help. This year, the number likely will top 1,400 -- an increase of nearly 17 percent -- and could reach 1,500 by the end of winter. Dickenson's population is about 16,400.

"I've seen people come in with electric bills that are $900, and what really breaks your heart is, you know this person is only drawing $800 a month," Mullins said. "They have to choose between eating, buying prescriptions, or freezing to death."

Mullins said the economy is the major reason so many more people are seeking help, though she noted that the winter has been cold in far Southwest Virginia and that Appalachian Power's 19.3 percent rate increase took effect in December.

Mullins said the social services department usually is able to help 95 percent of those in need.

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In Hopewell, Tina Dixon, senior eligibility worker with the city's fuel-assistance program, said more people have come in this winter for help through the city's services.

She said about 830 people -- 150 more than last year -- took advantage of fuel assistance, which provides residents with a credit of $450 to cover electric bills.

The crisis program -- for people who are about to have or already have had their power turned off -- has served about 128 people, the same total as last year, with a month to go.

"A lot of them are people who never needed assistance before," Dixon said. "I attribute it to people recently losing jobs and need assistance to carry on until they get back on their feet."

Contact Jeremy Slayton at (804) 649-6861 or .

Contact Rex Bowman at (540) 344-3612 or .

Staff writer Michael Martz contributed to this report.