“Obviously, people are paying more, bills are up across the board,” said Duke Energy spokesperson Casey Kroger. “Fuel costs are impacting the price that we are paying for energy, and that market price for energy is a straight pass-through to our customers, so obviously these higher bills will be a hardship for many.”
There’s enough funding for about 6,000 of the $500 credits, and Kroger said the program will run until the funding is exhausted.
Duke Energy is enlisting the help of community action agencies within the seven counties it provides natural gas services to in southwest Ohio.
Butler County residents, for example, are asked to call Supports to Encourage Low-Income Families (SELF) and provide their Duke Energy customer number. From there, the agency will determine a customer’s eligibility and will then send a weekly list to Duke Energy.
“[The] agency will provide an excel sheet of these customers and their account numbers to Duke, and that’s when we will credit the $500 to their bill,” Kroger said.
Kroger said that this program is pre-emptive and not a result of customers already falling behind on their natural gas bills.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that, each year, national natural gas usage spikes in the winter months as Americans heat their homes. This year, as natural gas and other energy products have gotten more expensive, heating homes will come with a heftier price.
“People are paying more from the grocery store to the gas pump. Our customers are also noticing higher energy bills, as rising fuel costs impact the price of energy,” said Amy Spiller, president of Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky. “We know that higher bills can be a hardship for many and we want to connect our customers with financial assistance and resources to help.”
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