With local weather forecasts showing temperatures staying well below freezing for the rest of 2017, Toledoans can be forgiven for turning up the thermostats ever so slightly this week.

However, that extra heat comes at a cost that can be hard to manage for some, and while assistance is available to get through the winter season, there are some hoops to hurdle through to receive aid.

The state of Ohio administers the federal Home Energy Assistance Program, which can provide a one-time utility payment of up to $175, said Matt Schilling, a Public Utilities Commission of Ohio spokesman. 

“They’re actually going to cut you a check,” he said.

A large area of arctic air moved into northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan during the weekend, and reinforcing cold is expected to persist into next week if not longer.

As of Tuesday evening, the National Weather Service office in Cleveland predicted daily highs in Toledo of no higher than the upper teens Fahrenheit through New Year’s Day, and lows in the single digits if not below zero nightly through the period.

AccuWeather, Inc., a private forecasting service based in State College, Pa., predicted sub-freezing highs until the second week of January. 

Along with HEAP, low-income families also may apply for the Percentage of Income Payment Plan Plus, or Pipp Plus, which Mr. Schilling said is unique to Ohio. A household is eligible if its income is no higher than 150 percent of the federal poverty standard, and the program fixes gas or electric bills at a lower level.

For gas and electric bills, monthly bills are capped at six percent of monthly income, or $10, whichever is higher. For all-electric houses, the cap is 10 percent of monthly income or $10, whichever is higher.

“No matter how large your bill is, you pay that amount,” Mr. Schilling said.

So long as a customer makes that payment each month, on time and in full, families pay no additional charges and past debt is eventually cleared. Two years of consecutive payments eliminates any past utility debt. Small utilities, like the Waterville Gas and Oil Company, are not required to participate in the program. 

Those two programs are administered through local community-action agencies. In Lucas County, that provider is Pathway Toledo. In Wood, Seneca, Ottawa and Sandusky counties, WSOS Community Action Commission fills that role, while counties to the west of Lucas are served by the Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission. 

Additionally, all regulated utilities are governed by a PUCO rule that requires them to reconnect service in the winter, regardless of the household’s income. The Winter Reconnect Order can be used once per year by households during the winter heating season, which runs from mid-October through mid-April, and only applies once a customer has a disconnect notice from their electric or gas company. 

At that point, customers can pay a fee, up to $175, to reconnect service through the rest of the winter heating season. If service has already been disconnected, customers may be required to pay up to $36 for a reconnection fee, if that company already charges a reconnection fee.

Columbia Gas, which provides gas for most of Lucas and Wood counties, charges $52 for reconnection, leaving the remaining $16 to be billed the following month. 

“The order does not absolve you of any payments,” Mr. Schilling said, and the order can only be used once per household per season. Over 228,000 households used that order at some point last winter. 

The Salvation Army is one private agency that can offer some assistance getting that fee paid, said Marsha Shaughnessy, that organization’s social service unit leader. 

Any assistance is dependent on available funding, and aid is available all-year round, not just for the winter heating season. There is no set benefit amount, though households are only eligible for one payment per year, and must be at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. 

A meeting with Salvation Army is required for this benefit, and all meetings are set for the week on Monday morning starting at 8:30 a.m. by calling 419-241-2294.

Contact Zack Lemon at zlemon@theblade.com, 419-724-6282 or on Twitter @zack_lemon.

First Published December 27, 2017, 12:49 a.m.