Southern Maryland Electric Tri-County Fuel Fund

Southern Maryland Electric customers that are elderly, disabled, or facing a crisis may be able to get short term assistance with their energy bills from Tri-County Fuel Fund. The donation based program, and the generous people that contribute to it, is just one resource available across the entire Southern Maryland service territory.

The program works in two different ways. First of all, the company is involved in collecting money from the community in the form of tax deductible donations. Anyone can contribute to Southern Maryland Electric Tri-County Fuel Fund any dollar amount they want, and it provides the community a great way to give back to those that are facing a disconnection.

Donations can be made each month, or one time contributions can be made. In either case, all of the money is used by the program for paying utility bills. Contributions are not used for administrative costs such as advertising or to pay the salaries of the staff. So this will help ensure the money gets to income qualified families.

The Southern Maryland Electric Co-Op may also, on occasion, contribute to the program. This will usually be done in the form of matching grants to what has been donated. This not only encourages more people to contribute, but it also makes the program much more effective in the number of families that can be assisted. Also, employees or executive management also usually take part in contributing.

Applying for Southern Maryland Electric Tri-County Fuel Fund

For those customers that are facing a crisis with their utilities, they can seek help from the program. Then, hopefully at some later date when they have improved their financial condition, they can then give back to the program.

 

 

 

 

There are many eligibility conditions in place. The goal is to help Southern Maryland Electric coop customers that may have their heating service or electricity turned off. In these cases, a small amount of money can be paid out. Note that an entire utility bill will not be paid and the household will also need to contribute.

Another focus is on using the donations to assist senior households or maybe a family with an emergency medical condition. These households are most at risk without power, so a donation can be used to help them catch up with their bills.

The support is only for short term needs, and if the family needs additional assistance, then the staff at Southern Maryland Electric can direct them accordingly. Since donations are also used by the Tri-County Fuel Fund, the number of families assisted will be very limited as well.

To learn more, call 1-888-440-3311. Or customer service staff will direct the person to another service. - The Tri-County Fuel Fund provides help with paying winter heating bills.