Cape Hatteras Electric Foundation utility bill assistance.

In an effort to assist low income customers with their utility bills, the Cape Hatteras Electric Foundation program was created. The service is available as a last resort, in a crisis. Most of the money that is available is the result of donations from the public, with some matching contributions from the company itself.

As noted, this is a short term solution for energy bills. It can provide a customer a little time to find the money to pay the balance of their utility bills, so what Foundation will not cover. The window of time can also be useful if the customer is applying for other support services, such as grants from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Or their can often be times in which a charity or non-profit in the Cape Hatteras Electric service territory requires more time to review an application and disburse funds, so in those cases the program may also help fill that gap.

Two ways to donate and two ways to apply for assistance: The first is to make a one time contribution to the Cape Hatteras Electric Foundation program, and that can be any dollar amount that someone wants to and is comfortable in paying out. Another way to donate to the service is through a monthly, recurring round up contribution. This will in effect round the customers monthly utility bill to the next highest dollar amount, with the incremental amount going to the donation program.

In either case, the amount goes to the less fortunate who are in a crisis. One hundred percent of funds go to heating and energy bills. Another benefit is that the donor will receive a deduction on their federal government and state of North Carolina income taxes, as the IRS allows charitable deductions. Last, but not least, Cape Hatteras Electric matches donations as well, which allows even more people to get financial assistance to pay their energy bills.

 

 

Now, lets bring it back to applying for the Cape Hatteras Electric Foundation utility bill assistance program. Any financial help is only for low income customer (with some middle income families also benefiting on occasion), and the applicant also needs to be in a short term crisis. If there is a long term need for assistance, then Foundation is not the best option to use.

There will be small dollar amounts paid out, and since the program relies on donations, funding comes and goes. There may be cash available at one part of the year, but then due to demand, it runs out later in the year. In other words this is a first come and served service.

There are a couple ways to apply. One is to call the customer service team at Cape Hatteras Electric, and that phone number is 1-800-454-5616. The second way is to contact a local social service agency, and those phone number include the Salvation Army at Cape Hatteras NC. Both may be able to offer applications to get utility bill assistance, with the customer service team at Cape Hatteras Electric also able to sometimes offer payment plans, conservation options, and more.