A grant program that only launched in July has already provided $200 loans to 50,000 low-income families in Eastern Washington – and more than half of the counties in Northeast Washington have received automatic approval.
The Washington Families Clean Energy Credit Grant Program, administered by the Washington State Department of Commerce, was created to assist residents facing high energy costs. The program offers eligible households a $200 bill credit through their electric provider.
The Department of Commerce has engaged Promise Pay (Promise) as a contractor to help administer the program, using $150 million from the state’s Climate Committee Act.
This program was also designed to automatically enroll customers already enrolled in their utility’s ratepayer assistance programs, which includes 69% of Ferry County, 62% of Pend Oreille County, and 57% of Stevens County – demonstrating the financial hardship faced by many community members in rural towns.
Elisanne McCutchen, a 63-year-old Chewelah resident, said she was automatically approved for the $200 loan and was able to use it to pay off a arrears and this month’s electric bill.
“I’m disabled and old, and that means I can’t work overtime or, you know, earn any extra money anywhere. I have to budget for everything,” she said.
McCutchen added that continuing such a program could make a “huge difference” for disabled people like her.
Destiny Rose, a resident of Kettle Falls, said the loan helped her reduce some of her daily expenses.
“For both of us working parents, the burden of covering our expenses in a time of inflation was enormous,” she said. “Receiving $200 toward our Avista bill eased the burden of daily expenses.”
Cheryl Hardee, deputy director of the Commerce Department’s Energy Division, said she has received a variety of feedback from across the state since the launch, including nine positive emails on Thursday from people in Pend Oreille thanking them for their help.
According to Commerce’s Low-Income Energy Assistance Legislative Report (2023), rural counties have a higher share of low-income households with energy cost burdens than urban counties.
In addition, the average energy burden per household in them tends to be the same or higher than in urban districts.
While this program has received a positive response from community members and could help alleviate the financial burden on rural communities, Hardee explained that it is currently a one-time program and it is up to the legislature and governor to convert it to an annual or quarterly program.
The application deadline for the loan grant program is September 15. Applications will continue to be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
“We expect it to reach about 675,000 households in Washington, so about a fifth to a quarter of the households in Washington. So it’s been a big challenge to get this program up and running in such a short period of time, but we really want to find households that meet the income requirements and give them $200,” Hardee said.
