City, Light, Water and Power assistance programs.
City, Light, Water and Power, or CWLP, will work with customers in an effort to provide them with assistance, payment plans, or government aid. The energy company tries to limit or prevent the shut off of service if at all possible. Some of the primary resources available are below.
Project RELIEF, which is funded almost entirely by CWLP employee and customer contributions, can help qualified low income customers who have an overdue water or electric bill. The financial aid is focused on those customers who are faced with a shut off due to non-payment. Applicants also must meet low income levels and have used up all other sources of private or public assistance. In addition note that customers may be required to cover some portion of their delinquent utility bills on their own in order to receive financial help from Project RELIEF.
To begin the application process dial 789-2414. You will need to go through a telephone interview in order to determine if you are qualified. If after this initial screening you are selected for Project RELIEF then you will need to be scheduled for an appointment for additional follow up. This is done with a local organization known as Contact Ministries, which administers the energy assistance program for CWLP. The enrollment periods starts around December 1 of each year. Funds are limited, and all aid is paid out on a first come-served basis. As indicated it relies on donations from the community, so if you can contribute please do so. Your money will go directly to helping struggling City, Light, Water and Power customers.
Payment Arrangements from City, Light, Water and Power will allow customers to pay off a balance on their account in installments. This is an option for people who owe a previous past due amount. To learn more, call CWLP customer service at 789-2030.
Not every customer will be offered this option. The exact terms of any payment arrangement entered into will be determined on a case-by-case basis. However the company will work with each customer to find some type of solution or payment arrangement.
Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries and CWLP created a resource known as Hand Up. This program will allow qualifying customers to receive a credit on their bills. The catch is that they will need to volunteer, which is really working at Goodwill. While program terms can change, in general a customer with a delinquent utility or water bill account of $400 or less can work off up to 50% of the balance. They will need to work about 25 hours in order to do this.
Another component of Hand Up is that CWLP will also create a payment arrangement for participants by which the customer who is volunteering can also pay off the remainder of the overdue amount. Also you will not have your service disconnected while you are enrolled in this program. Another benefit is for those older and/or disabled customers who are physically unable to participate in the Hand Up program. These individuals can even have family members or friends work for them to get the credit on the account. Call 789-2030 for more details.
City, Light, Water and Power fully supports the Illinois LIHEAP Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. This particular service is paid for by the federal government as well as the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The government grant program provides qualifying customers with financial help to cover their current and go forward energy bills. Eligibility for LIHEAP is based on the customers income and number of household members. (217) 535-3120 for information.
Capital Township offers resources for its own residents. The local governmental agency provides limited amounts of financial assistance, including help with paying energy, water and utility bills, to qualifying residents. You can only apply at most once every 2 years. (217) 525-1736. Woodside Township is another similar option. They too also only support residents in their community. Some money may be offered for hating or utility bills too. Telephone (217) 522-3712.
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