AGENDA TITLE:
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Adopt a Resolution Authorizing Increase to Customer Assistance and Relief Energy (CARE) Program Maximum Emergency Assistance Benefit Payment and Further Authorizing Annual Adjustment (EU)
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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.
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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.
California in particular continues to experience rising energy costs. While LEU electric rates still remain competitive when compared to neighboring PG&E and other public utilities, staff recognize the need to continue to provide financial assistance to customers having difficulty paying their utility bill and adjust that assistance based on electric rate changes at the local level.
Therefore, staff is recommending an increase to the current CARE Program benefit from $150 to $162 effective July 1, 2025, which represents an 8 percent increase. Staff is also recommending an automatic adjustment to occur each year thereafter, to be calculated by staff based on a three-year rolling average change in the LEU residential rate reported to the Energy Information Administration for the prior three calendar years. This rate reflects the average rate paid by LEU residential customers, including any fluctuations in the Energy Cost Adjustment and is most representative of utility costs paid by LEU residents over a three-year period which takes into consideration any anomalies occurring in a given year such as significant swings in hydroelectric conditions.
STRATEGIC VISION:
4E. Housing: Adopt standards and policies to promote housing for all economic levels.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Based on the average number of CARE Program applications approved each year, this will result in an increase of less than $6,000 annually.
FUNDING AVAILABLE:
Sufficient funds are available in Account No. 50465300.72921.