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Access to Utility Service: 42 U.S.C. § 8627. Withholding of funds

(a) Improper utilization of funds; response to complaints respecting improprieties

(1) The Secretary shall, after adequate notice and an opportunity for a hearing conducted within the affected State, withhold funds from any State which does not utilize its allotment substantially in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter and the assurances such State provided under section 8624 of this title.

Access to Utility Service: 42 U.S.C. § 8628. Limitation on use of grants for construction

Grants made under this subchapter may not be used by the State, or by any other person with which the State makes arrangements to carry out the purposes of this subchapter, for the purchase or improvement of land, or the purchase, construction, or permanent improvement (other than low-cost residential weatherization or other energy-related home repairs) of any building or other facility.

[Pub. L. No. 97-35, tit. XXVI, § 2609, 95 Stat. 902 (Aug. 13, 1981)]

Access to Utility Service: 42 U.S.C. § 8629. Studies and reports

(a) The Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall provide for the collection of data, including—

(1) information concerning home energy consumption;

(2) the amount, cost and type of fuels used for households eligible for assistance under this subchapter;

(3) the type of fuel used by various income groups;

Access to Utility Service: 42 U.S.C. § 8630. Renewable fuels

In providing assistance pursuant to this title, a State, or any other person with which the State makes arrangements to carry out the purposes of this title, may purchase renewable fuels, including biomass.

[Pub. L. No. 109-58, tit. I, § 121, 119 Stat. 616 (Aug. 8, 2005)]

Access to Utility Service: 45 C.F.R. § 96.82. Required report on households assisted.

(a) Each grantee which is a State or an insular area which receives an annual allotment of at least $200,000 shall submit to the Department, as part of its LIHEAP grant application, the data required by section 2605(c)(1)(G) of Public Law 97-35 (42 U.S.C. 8624(c)(1)(G)) for the 12-month period corresponding to the Federal fiscal year (October 1–September 30) preceding the fiscal year for which funds are requested. The data shall be reported separately for LIHEAP heating, cooling, crisis, and weatherization assistance.

Access to Utility Service: 45 C.F.R. § 96.83. Increase in maximum amount that may be used for weatherization and other energy-related home repair.

(a) Scope. This section concerns requests for waivers increasing from 15 percent to up to 25 percent of LIHEAP funds allotted or available to a grantee for a fiscal year, the maximum amount that grantees may use for low-cost residential weatherization and other energy-related home repair for low-income households (hereafter referred to as “weatherization”), pursuant to section 2605(k) of Public Law 97-35 (42 U.S.C. 8624(k)).

Access to Utility Service: 45 C.F.R. § 96.84. Miscellaneous.

(a) Rights and responsibilities of territories. Except as otherwise provided, a territory eligible for funds shall have the same rights and responsibilities as a State.

(b) Applicability of assurances. The assurances in section 2605(b) of Public Law 97-35 (42 U.S.C. 8624(b)), as amended, pertain to all forms of assistance provided by the grantee, with the exception of assurance 15, which applies to heating, cooling, and energy crisis intervention assistance.

Access to Utility Service: 45 C.F.R. § 96.86. Exemption from requirement for additional outreach and intake services.

The requirement in section 2605(b)(15) of Public Law 97-35 (42 U.S.C. 8624(b)(15)), as amended by section 704(a)(4) of the Augustus F. Hawkins Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-501)—concerning additional outreach and intake services—does not apply to:

(a) Indian tribes and tribal organizations; and

(b) Territories whose annual LIHEAP allotments under section 2602(b) of Public Law 97-35 (42 U.S.C. 8621(b)) are $200,000 or less.

Access to Utility Service: 45 C.F.R. § 96.88. Administrative costs.

(a) Costs of planning and administration. Any expenditure for governmental functions normally associated with administration of a public assistance program must be included in determining administrative costs subject to the statutory limitation on administrative costs, regardless of whether the expenditure is incurred by the State, a subrecipient, a grantee, or a contractor of the State.

Access to Utility Service: 45 C.F.R. § 96.89. Exemption from standards for providing energy crisis intervention assistance.

The performance standards in section 2604(c) of Pub. L. 97-35 (42 U.S.C. 8623), as amended by section 502(a) of the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-425)—concerning provision of energy crisis assistance within specified time limits, acceptance of applications for energy crisis benefits at geographically accessible sites, and provision to physically infirm low-income persons of the means to apply for energy crisis benefits at their residences or to travel to application sites—shall not apply under the conditions described in this section.

Access to Utility Service: C.4 LIHEAP Profile

The information in this table is derived from documents and preliminary estimates by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families, Division of Energy Assistance. HHS documents include the annual LIHEAP Reports to Congress for fiscal years 1981–2017, the LIHEAP Home Energy Notebooks for fiscal years 1995–2017, and HHS LIHEAP appropriations summaries through 2023.

Access to Utility Service: 2.1.2 The Common Law Duty to Serve

All public utilities—investor owned, municipal, or cooperative—are subject to a common law duty to serve.5 However, at least one district court has held that when there is a statutory duty to serve, the common law duty is superseded and the public utility commission has exclusive jurisdiction over the claim of a utility’s breach of its duty to serve.6 The utility must provide service to any member of the public living within the utility’s service area who has applied for service and is willing both to p