Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a)
Home
energy. For the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), home
energy means a household's source of energy used to heat or cool a residential
dwelling, per Section 8622(6) of Title 42 of the United States Code
(42
U.S.C. §
8622(6))
.
(b)
Main energy
source.
(1) The main energy source
used to heat the home is approved during the winter heating application period.
The main energy source may be electricity, natural gas, propane, kerosene,
firewood, coal, butane, or heating oil. When the household uses a generator to
heat the home, the generator may use natural gas, propane, or
gasoline.
(2) The main energy
source used to cool the home is approved during the summer cooling application
period. In most instances, the main cooling source is electricity. When the
household uses a generator to cool the home, the generator may use natural gas,
propane, or gasoline.
(3) During an
Energy Crisis Assistance Program (ECAP) application period, the household must
choose the heating or cooling energy source that resolves the energy
crisis.
(c)
Household. Household means any person or group of persons who are
living together as one economic unit and for whom residential energy is
customarily purchased in common, or who make undesignated payments for energy
in the form of rent, per
42
U.S.C. §
8622(5).
(1) The income and resources of all household
members is considered, per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC)
340:20-1-11
procedures, even when one or more household members is not eligible to be
included in the benefit, per (d) or (h)(5) of this Section.
(2) Refer to OAC
340:20-1-4
when one or more household members is a member of a tribe operating its own
LIHEAP.
(3) A roomer is a person
who rents a room in another person's house. A boarder is a person who lives in
temporary housing, such as halfway house or group home, a commercial boarding
house, or with another household who furnishes lodging and meals to the person
in exchange for a reasonable monthly payment for board. When the household
states there is a roomer or boarder living in the home, the person may be
considered as a separate household only when:
(A) he or she is not related to the
household; and
(B) there is a
written lease or roommate agreement that contains a clause stating he or she is
responsible for a specific portion of the utility bills.
(4) There is one authorization per household
for each heating or cooling application assistance period.
(d)
Citizenship and alien
status. Per Section
71
of Title 56 and Section
20j
of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes, all persons 14 years of age and older
must declare if they are residing in the United States (U.S.) lawfully and may
be required to sign Form 08MP005E, Citizenship Affidavit, per OAC
340:65-3-1(g).
To be eligible for LIHEAP benefits, a person must be:
(1) a U.S. citizen;
(2) a U.S. non-citizen national;
(3) an alien who is both qualified and
eligible, per OAC 340:50-67; or
(4)
an alien not required to meet qualified alien status.
(e)
Vulnerability. A household
is vulnerable when it is totally or partially responsible for home energy
costs. A household whose primary energy source is temporarily discontinued is
also considered vulnerable. A roomer or boarder may be considered vulnerable
when:
(1) he or she is not related to a
household member with whom he or she lives; and
(2) there is a written lease or roommate
agreement that contains a clause stating he or she is responsible for a
specific portion of the utility bills.
(f)
Non-vulnerability.
Non-vulnerable households are those that do not bear any home energy expense.
Examples of non-vulnerable living arrangements include:
(1) congregate or domiciliary facilities,
such as a nursing facility, assisted living or long term care facility when
utilities are paid through a corporate or business account, college or
university dormitory, or fraternity or sorority housing;
(2) households whose primary energy source is
totally paid by someone other than a household member; or
(3) subsidized households whose heating or
cooling costs are included in the rent. Subsidized households assessed an
energy surcharge during the operation of LIHEAP may be eligible for assistance
when they provide verification of the surcharge. Acceptable surcharge
verification may be established by an itemized statement from the landlord, a
legally-binding lease agreement showing the surcharge, or a rent receipt
designating the fuel cost is separate from the total shelter payment.
(g)
Subsidized
household. Subsidized households are households that receive a utility
allowance to cover all or part of their energy cost or receive assistance in
paying their rent or house payment on a regular basis. Subsidized households
are not vulnerable when an agency or person pays the entire utility bill every
month, even when the utility bill is in the name of a household member or the
payment is a loan.
(1) Assistance may be from
a government agency, such as a local housing authority, or a private person,
usually a relative or friend, who helps the household pay their utility bills,
rent or house payment, or allows the household to live rent free.
(2) When apartment rental rates in college or
university-owned apartment complexes are set lower than other apartments in the
community to help the student, the household is considered a subsidized
household.
(3) Eligible subsidized
households with out-of-pocket utility expenses receive the same assistance
benefit as unsubsidized households.
(h)
Eligible household criteria.
All eligible households must verify that they meet criteria in (1) through (5)
of this subsection, per OAC
340:20-1-13, or the
application is denied.
(1) Households must be
totally or partially responsible for the cost of home energy and provide
accurate utility information.
(2)
Households must not exceed the gross income and resource standards, per
Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) Appendix C-7, Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program Income and Resource Level by Household Size.
(3) Households must include at least one U.S.
citizen or eligible alien. An undocumented or ineligible alien may be present
in the home, but is not included in household size when determining the
household's financial eligibility or the benefit amount. The undocumented or
ineligible alien's income is considered, per OAC
340:20-1-11(a)(4).
(4) The applicant must provide proof of his
or her identity, per OAC
340:20-1-13(4).
(5) Each household member included in
household size for income and benefit determination must provide his or her
Social Security number (SSN), per OAC
340:20-1-13(3)
and
340:65-3-1(f).
When the household does not provide a SSN for a household member, the person's
income is counted but he or she is not included in household size when
determining the household's financial eligibility, per OKDHS Appendix C-7, or
benefit amount, per OKDHS Appendix C-7-A, Estimated Low Income Home Energy
Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Benefit Level for all Households.
(i)
Benefit amount.
LIHEAP funding is contingent on the receipt of federal funds and authorized
amounts vary from year-to-year. Benefit amounts are estimated and reserved for
winter heating, summer cooling, and ECAP on a yearly basis after the funding
amount for the federal fiscal year is known. OKDHS Appendix C-7-A provides
estimated benefit amounts for each program component. Adjustments may be made
to the estimated benefit amount during the federal fiscal year because of
changes in available funding or anticipated need. The household benefit amount
for:
(1) winter heating is based upon
household size, net income, primary energy source, and if the household pays
the energy supplier or the utility cost is included in the rent payment;
(2) summer cooling is based upon
household size and net income; and
(3) ECAP is based on the amount needed to
resolve the energy crisis up to the maximum amount shown, per OKDHS Appendix
C-7-A.
Amended at 9 Ok Reg 191,
eff 10-17-91 (emergency); Amended at 9 Ok Reg 2455, eff 6-25-92; Amended at 10
Ok Reg 637, eff 12-14-92 (emergency); Amended at 10 Ok Reg 2259, eff 6-11-93;
Amended at 11 Ok Reg 483, eff 11-15-93 (emergency); Amended at 11 Ok Reg 1671,
eff 5-12-94; Amended at 12 Ok Reg 377, eff 11-17-94 (emergency); Amended at 12
Ok Reg 1713, eff 6-12-95; Amended at 14 Ok Reg 577, eff 12-12-96 (emergency);
Amended at 14 Ok Reg 1336, eff 5-12-97; Amended at 15 Ok Reg 152, eff 12-1-97
(emergency); Amended at 15 Ok Reg 1604, eff 5-11-98; Amended at 20 Ok Reg 2912,
eff 10-1-03 (emergency); Amended at 21 Ok Reg 837, eff 4-26-04; Amended at 26
Ok Reg 816, eff 6-1-09; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 1195, eff 6-1-10; Amended at 28 Ok
Reg 805, eff 6-1-11; Amended at 29 Ok Reg 760, eff
7-1-12
