Skip to main content

Search

Access to Utility Service: 10 C.F.R. § 440.13 Local applications.

(a) The Support Office Director shall give written notice to all local applicants throughout a State of their eligibility to apply for financial assistance under this part in the event:

(1) A State, within which a local applicant is situated, fails to submit an application within 60 days after notice in accordance with § 440.12(a) or

Access to Utility Service: 10 C.F.R. § 440.14 State plans.

(a) Before submitting to DOE an application, a State must provide at least 10 days notice of a hearing to inform prospective subgrantees, and must conduct one or more public hearings to receive comments on a proposed State plan. The notice for the hearing must specify that copies of the plan are available and state how the public may obtain them. The State must prepare a transcript of the hearings and accept written submission of views and data for the record.

(b) The proposed State plan must:

Access to Utility Service: 10 C.F.R. § 440.15 Subgrantees.

(a) The grantee shall ensure that:

(1) Each subgrantee is a CAA or other public or nonprofit entity;

(2) Each subgrantee is selected on the basis of public comment received during a public hearing conducted pursuant to § 440.14(a) and other appropriate findings regarding:

(i) The subgrantee’s experience and performance in weatherization or housing renovation activities;

Access to Utility Service: 10 C.F.R. § 440.16 Minimum program requirements.

Prior to the expenditure of any grant funds each grantee shall develop, publish, and implement procedures to ensure that:

(a) No dwelling unit may be weatherized without documentation that the dwelling unit is an eligible dwelling unit as provided in § 440.22;

(b) Priority is given to identifying and providing weatherization assistance to:

(1) Elderly persons;

(2) Persons with disabilities;

Access to Utility Service: 10 C.F.R. § 440.17 Policy Advisory Council.

(a) Prior to the expenditure of any grant funds, a State policy advisory council, or a State commission or council which serves the same functions as a State policy advisory council, must be established by a State or by the Regional Office Director if a State does not participate in the Program which:

(1) Has special qualifications and sensitivity with respect to solving the problems of low-income persons, including the weatherization and energy conservation problems of these persons;

Access to Utility Service: 10 C.F.R. § 440.18 Allowable expenditures.

(a) Except as adjusted, the expenditure of financial assistance provided under this part for labor, weatherization materials, and related matters included in paragraphs (c)(1) through (9) of this section shall not exceed an average of $6,500 per dwelling unit weatherized in the State, except as adjusted in paragraph (c) of this section.

Access to Utility Service: 10 C.F.R. § 440.19 Labor.

Payments for labor costs under § 440.18(c)(2) must consist of:

(a) Payments permitted by the Department of Labor to supplement wages paid to training participants, public service employment workers, or other Federal or State training programs; and

Access to Utility Service: 10 C.F.R. § 440.20 Low-cost/no-cost weatherization activities.

(a) An eligible dwelling unit may be weatherized without regard to the limitations contained in § 440.18 (e)(2) or § 440.21(b) from funds designated by the grantee for carrying out low-cost/no-cost weatherization activities provided:

(1) Inexpensive weatherization materials are used, such as water flow controllers, furnace or cooling filters, or items which are primarily directed toward reducing infiltration, including weatherstripping, caulking, glass patching, and insulation for plugging; and

Access to Utility Service: 10 C.F.R. § 440.21 Weatherization materials standards and energy audit procedures.

(a) Paragraph (b) of this section describes the required standards for weatherization materials. Paragraph (c) (1) of this section describes the performance and quality standards for renewable energy systems. Paragraph (c) (2) of this section specifies the procedures and criteria that are used for considering a petition from a manufacturer requesting the Secretary to certify an item as a renewable energy system.

Access to Utility Service: 10 C.F.R. § 440.22 Eligible dwelling units.

(a) A dwelling unit shall be eligible for weatherization assistance under this part if it is occupied by a family unit:

(1) Whose income is at or below 200 percent of the poverty level determined in accordance with criteria established by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget,

Access to Utility Service: 10 C.F.R. § 440.23 Oversight, training, and technical assistance.

(a) The Secretary and the appropriate Support Office Director, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall monitor and evaluate the operation of projects carried out by CAA’s receiving financial assistance under this part through on-site inspections, or through other means, in order to ensure the effective provision of weatherization assistance for the dwelling units of low-income persons.

Access to Utility Service: 10 C.F.R. § 440.24 Recordkeeping.

Each grantee or subgrantee receiving Federal financial assistance under this part shall keep such records as DOE shall require, including records which fully disclose the amount and disposition by each grantee and subgrantee of the funds received, the total cost of a weatherization project or the total expenditure to implement the State plan for which assistance was given or used, the source and amount of funds for such project or program not supplied by DOE, the average costs incurred in weatherization of individual dwelling units, the average size of the dwelling being weatherized, the a

Access to Utility Service: 10 C.F.R. § 440.25 Reports.

DOE may require any recipient of financial assistance under this part to provide, in such form as may be prescribed, such reports or answers in writing to specific questions, surveys, or questionnaires as DOE determines to be necessary to carry out its responsibilities or the responsibilities of the Secretary of Health and Human Services under this part.

[49 Fed. Reg. 3634 (Jan. 27, 1984)]

Access to Utility Service: 10 C.F.R. § 440.30 Administrative Review.

(a) An applicant shall have 20 days from the date of receipt of a decision under § 440.12 or § 440.13 to file a notice requesting administrative review. If an applicant does not timely file such a notice, the decision under § 440.12 or § 440.13 shall become final for DOE.

Access to Utility Service: 11.2 Types of Water Affordability Programs

The low-income affordability rates described for energy utilities can also be applied to water and sewer bills (for example, rate discounts, service charge waivers, and percentage of income payment plans (PIPPs)).27 The water bill is often comprised of a customer service charge and a usage charge.28 However, an important factor in affordability rate design is the strong correlation between residential water usage and the number of people in the household.

Access to Utility Service: 3.2.2 Limits on Termination Based on Tenant Vulnerability

State law often protects residential utility service customers from disconnection because of the customer’s age or health or because of the time of year. However, these protections may not apply where the landlord supplies the utility service and where the state views the service as part of a commercial—not residential—account. On the other hand, a state may consider service to a two- or three-family home to be residential service so that the residential protections do apply.

Access to Utility Service: 3.3.1 Landlord’s Obligation to Provide Utility Service

State law often explicitly requires landlords to continue providing landlord-provided utility service.22 These statutes generally prohibit willful termination or interruption of service, and are construed to cover the failure to correct known problems that interfere with service.23 Some states also explicitly prohibit a landlord from terminating or interrupting a tenant’s utility service when it is being done to evict the tenant.24 More general prohibiti

Access to Utility Service: 3.3.3 Alternate Housing

Where landlord-supplied utility service is cut off, another tenant option is to move to alternative housing, refrain from paying rent to the prior landlord, and instead only pay for rent at the new housing. State law may even specify that the consumer is not liable to the prior landlord for the remaining rent and may allow the tenant to recover from the first landlord expenses necessitated by the move.50

Access to Utility Service: 3.3.4 Injunctive Relief, Damages, and Other Remedies

Landlords who fail to keep utility service connected face significant liability. It may be a crime to willfully or intentionally fail to provide required utilities.51 Of course, a criminal prosecution is not going to turn the lights back on immediately.

Injunctive relief may be more helpful. Injunctive relief is generally available to force the landlord to bring the unit in compliance with codes in order to prevent a threat to the health, safety, or well-being of the unit’s occupants.52

Access to Utility Service: 5.1.2 Tender of Payment

Ordinarily, utility service is provided upon request on an open account, and a bill for that service is then sent to the customer. Full and timely (by the “due date” printed on the bill) payment by any acceptable method pays this bill and completely discharges the underlying debt.7