With the cold temperatures here, heat in homes will be turned up, causing power bills to increase. Jamieson Community Center Executive Director Nancy Mowen informs that while there is assistance locally through the LIHEAP program, there has been a decrease of available funds:
“The last couple of years we have probably all experienced a little bit of a strain or challenge; insurance rates have increased, food prices have increased, power bills have increased, and at the same time the power bills increased, the LIHEAP, which is the Low-Income Household Energy Assistance Program, decreased the benefits that people are eligible for. Even though they can get some help with those power bills, the dollar amount of that help has actually gone down, while the energy bills have been higher.”
