Low income residents who qualified for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, otherwise known as LIHEAP, could now lose their utility service. Under the program, administered locally by IMPACT Community Action Partnership, regulated energy providers can not shut off LIHEAP qualified residents during winter. IMPACT Community Action Partnership of Des Moines CEO, Anne Bacon, says that moratorium ends today, and she doubts there will be other funds to stop disconnection notices.

“This year, after the moratorium, it’s extremely unlikely that we will have any funding to help anyone who gets a shut off notice after April 1st. That just has to do with the overall amount of funding available compared to the number of people who need it.”

Bacon says she’s worked in community action for roughly 25 years, and last year was the first year the state came up against the amount of LIHEAP available to families. This is the second straight year the program has run out of money. 

IMPACT Community Action Agency serves Jasper, Marion, Polk, Warren, and Boone counties.