MOLINE, Ill. — An Illinois program is helping qualifying households with their utility bills this winter.
The Energy Assistance Foundation's Warm Neighbors Cool Friends (WNCF) program offers financial assistance for eligible Ameren Illinois customers and is currently accepting applications. Similar to the state's Low-Income Home Energy Assitance Program (LIHEAP), customers must have certain income and household size requirements to qualify. WNCF not only helps lower-income households but also those with a moderate income.
Qualifying income levels can be found below:
- 1-person household: $2,431 to $4,513 (monthly income)
- 2-people: $3,288 to $5,158
- 3-people: $4,144 to $5,804
- 4-people: $5,001 to $6,446
- 5-people: $5,858 to $6,963
- 6-people: $6,714 to $7,479
- 7-people: $7,571 to $7,996
- 8-people: $7,776 to $8,513
In addition to the above qualifications, some counties are not included in the program. A map of qualifying counties can be found here.
The Energy Assistance Foundation works in partnership with Ameren Illinois and other social service agencies across the state. It helps over 2,500 households each year through the WNCF program and has helped more than 100,000 homes since the program started in 1982.
WNCF also provides assistance during the summer but it is limited to seniors, people with disabilities and those with medical conditions.
According to reporting from Capitol News Illinois, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) just approved rate increases last Thursday for Commonwealth Edison and Ameren customers. While rates will likely go up next year, these increases are smaller than what the utility companies had been originally hoping for.
Find more information on Warm Neighbors Cool Friends by clicking here.