NSEDC providing $575 toward electric utility bills for all eligible households in region
The Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation (NSEDC) Board of Directors has voted to issue a $575 energy subsidy to every household in its 15 member communities. NSEDC staff will begin the sign-up process the week of January 23, with sign-up events taking place in each of the 15 member communities through the middle of February.
“We have heard over and over again how much help the Energy Subsidy can be for residents during what can be a particularly difficult time of year,” said NSEDC Board Chairman Dan Harrelson from White Mountain. “The NSEDC Board recognizes that funds get stretched in the winter time, which is also the time when energy bills can be at their highest. We are grateful that NSEDC again has the ability to provide this assistance to the residents and region we are honored to serve.”
Energy subsidies were issued at the $500 level by the NSEDC Board of Directors in 2008, 2012 and 2014. In 2015 and 2016, the NSEDC Board issued the energy subsidy at $575 per household, paying nearly $1.5 million to local electric utilities on behalf of residents each of those two years. The subsidies issued over the five years have saved households in NSEDC’s 15 member communities a total of $6.8 million. With roughly 2,700 households in the region, NSEDC is expected to infuse more than $1.5 million toward household utility expenses in the coming months.
Those living off the electrical grid will be given the opportunity for a $575 heating fuel credit to the fuel vendor in their community. As in the past, the 2017 initiative is an isolated contribution and the energy subsidy is not a continuing program.
NSEDC Community Benefits department staff will issue the 2017 electric utility subsidy as they have in previous years, and households will sign up directly with NSEDC and see their savings in their monthly electric utility bills. NSEDC staff will begin facilitating the sign-up process this week, with a goal to have all payments completed by March. Flyers will be posted in every community, informing residents of the sign-up date and location.
Those residents who are unable to sign up during the event in their community are asked to contact Charice Johnson in Unalakleet by phone at 1-800-385-3190 or by email at charice@nsedc.com. NSEDC will accept subsidy applications up until March 15.
For more information on the issuance of NSEDC’s 2017 Energy Subsidy, contact Community Benefits Director Paul Ivanoff III in Unalakleet at (800) 385-3190 or pivanoff@nsedc.com.
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