AGENDA TITLE:
title
Adopt a Resolution Authorizing Increase to Customer Assistance and Relief Energy (CARE) Program Maximum Emergency Assistance Benefit Payment and Further Authorizing Annual Adjustment (EU)
end
MEETING DATE:
June 4, 2025
PREPARED BY:
Astrida Trupovnieks, Key Accounts and Customer Programs Specialist
recommendation
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Adopt a resolution authorizing an increase to the Customer Assistance and Relief Energy (CARE) Program Maximum Emergency Assistance Benefit Payment and further authorizing an annual adjustment.
body
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Since 2004, Lodi Electric Utility (LEU) has provided an emergency assistance payment for outstanding electric charges on their utility bill to eligible residential customers experiencing short-term financial hardship.
Commonly referred to as the CARE Program, eligibility is determined by household size and is 60 percent of the state median income or lower. This eligibility criteria aligns with LEU's long-term SHARE Program monthly discount as well as Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) benefits administered by the County.
Up until the onset of COVID, eligible customers could receive assistance in the amount of $110 once every six months. During COVID, LEU temporarily expanded availability of the CARE Program to assist customers who were facing financial difficulty as a result of job loss, layoffs, or income loss/reduction. Following COVID, LEU recognized that inflation continued to outpace wage growth, customers were seeing their purchasing power weaken and consumer household expenses continued to increase. Therefore, in 2022, City Council approved staff's recommendation to increase the monthly maximum CARE Payment benefit from $110 to $150 once every six months.
Current data indicates that approximately 225 CARE Program applications are processed each year at a total cost of $34,000 annually - approximately .03 percent of LEU's annual budget.
Cal...
Click here for full text