LREMC Cares Utility Assistance Program

Find help with utility bills from the LREMC Cares donation program. It is called this as contributions are used from the community and the money raised goes to assist less fortunate households with their paying their energy costs. Lumbee River Cares is an option of last resort and the scope of it as well as number of people assisted is very limited.

To apply for assistance from the program, a number of conditions need to be met. Also, while Cares plays a key role in offering the service, local non-profit agencies do most of the screening of the applications. When applying for utility assistance, some or all of the following need to be met.

-The family seeking help should have poor of income, copies of current and past utility bills, and identification.
-The customer needs to have a substantial reason as to why they have falling behind.
-A formal application is needed.
-The applicant needs a plan to get back on track and pay future energy bills.
-Priority for any grants from Lumbee River Cares are for people with a medical emergency, seniors lacking power, and other facing special circumstances.

As noted, LREMC relies on donations as well. This means that without the generosity of businesses and regular households across the state of North Carolina, there would not even be any money available for the less fortunate. So anyone that receives assistance should always be very grateful.

Not only will money be contributed from the community, but Lumbee River also provides matching grants. This means for the money donated the trustees from the company will provide additional funding from their own coffers. This helps scale up the program to assist an even larger number of households.

Any dollar amount will be used wisely. There is a formal application process in place, and if someone donates a few dollars or much more, that money will go to the less fortunate that are in a short term crisis situation. The company as well as the staff at the application sites, such as local non-profits, will ensure that only the most deserving customers get the assistance for their energy bills.

 

 

 

 

There are different ways to contribute to Lumbee River Cares. People can write a one time check, and that money will go to the program. Or they can participate in a monthly service that rounds up their currently utility bill to the next highest dollar amount, and that difference will be used to help fund the program too. If and when someone contributes to the program, they can start or stop this process at any time. There is no long term commitment needed.

The priority for those donations will be for households that are most at risk if their electricity were to be turned off. This includes, but is not limited too, senior citizens with a medical condition or a family with a young child in the Lumbee River service territory. The generous donations to Cares from the community will make a difference in many cases. For more information, call 910-843-4131.