Winter Help

Winter Help is sponsored by Cascade Natural Gas (Administered through Community Action agencies). Winter Help offers grants to Cascade Natural Gas residential customers to help with past due balances, future bills, or to reconnect service for households with income up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.

Washington - Cascade Natural Gas Corporation Home Customer Service Income-Qualified Assistance Programs Washington Protecting Customer Information We understand that our customers are concerned about the safety and the security of their information. This is especially true in immigrant communities. Cascade does not ask about customers’ immigration status.

Cascade also does not require customers to provide their Social Security Numbers to receive service or bill assistance. Cascade may occasionally be required to disclose customer information under state and federal law. For example, if a judge orders Cascade to produce customer information, Cascade must comply.

Cascade cannot, however, share information that it does not have, like Social Security information or the immigration status of its customers. Energy assistance for income-QUALIFIED households If you are having difficulty paying your natural gas bill, Cascade Natural Gas and its Community Action Agency partners are available to help with solutions provided through the CARES bill payment assistance program. Applying for CARES is easy.

You simply self-attest your household income and the number of residents in your home to establish your eligibility. Here are the ways you can do this: Call Cascade customer service at 888-522-1130 . Complete an online application form .

After which, a Community Action Agency or Cascade representative will contact you. Contact your local Community Action Agency, which is listed below. Download, print, complete, and mail a hard-copy application.

In addition to English and Spanish, CARES paper applications are available in Burmese, Dari, Filipino, Punjabi, Chinese, Vietnamese, Ukrainian, Arabic, and Russian. ENGLISH APPLICATION | SPANISH APPLICATION | ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES Eligibility for the CARES program is based on your adjusted gross household income and the number of residents in your home.

If your adjusted gross household income is 200% or less of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) or 80% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI), you qualify for CARES. Here are the steps to take to determine if you are income-qualified: Step 1: Add up the income sources for all members of your household excluding income from residents 18 years of age or younger.

Step 2: Deduct from your gross household income any child support payments that you made in the same time period as the earned or received income. Receipt of child support and/or spousal maintenance payments should be added to your gross income. Step 3: Determine your adjusted gross household income by applying all applicable discounts for your income types as listed in Table 1 below.

Apply the one deduction appropriate for the majority of your income type (e.g. Fixed Income, Earned Income, Self-Employment, etc.).

Table 1 – Adjustments to Apply to Gross Household Income Gross Income Type (before taxes, SSI taxes, or FICA taxes) Types of Income Gross Deduction Fixed Income, not taxed SSA, SSDI, Pension, Unemployment 0% Fixed Income, taxed SSA, SSDI, Pension, 401(k) or like accounts, Unemployment 10% Earned Income, taxed Regular earning from a job, military pay, Federal Medical Leave Act (FLMA) compensation 20% Self-Employment 1040 or any type of self-employment that has costs associated with it.

The deduction is to account for business expenses 50% Other Cash Income TANF, Child Support Recipient, general assistance dividends, payments for property, trust fund payments, GoFundMe, Rental payments, Intermittent for cash work such as yard work or donating blood or plasma 0% Step 4: Determine if your adjusted gross income is within the qualifying range of 200% or less of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) or 80% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI) .

Use whichever standard is better for your household. Cascade understands that determining eligibility is a multi-step process that may be complex, and for this reason, Cascade encourages you to call Cascade customer service at 888-522-1130 or contact a Community Action Agency to walk you through the process or to answer your questions. The energy bill discounts and the arrearage relief grants are provided based on your income level.

Table 2 shows the energy discounts and, if applicable, the arrearage relief grants available based on your percentage of FPL or AMI. Table 2 – CARES Discounts and Arrearage Grants Arrearage Relief (if applicable) * * Arrearage relief is limited by the terms and conditions established in Rule 20, Cascade Arrearage Relief Energy Savings (CARES) Program.

The CARES program has a CARES Advisory Group that collaborates with Cascade on achieving the following goals: Reducing customers’ energy burden Keeping customers connected to energy service Providing energy assistance to more customers than are currently served Collecting data necessary to assess CARES program effectiveness and to inform ongoing policy discussions Supporting the use of LIHEAP, whenever possible The CARES Advisory Group is comprised of representatives from Public Counsel, Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission Staff, The Energy Project, NW Energy Coalition, Cascade, and each Community Action Agency within Cascade’s service territory.

The CARES Advisory Group meets monthly to discuss topics such as CARES program design, barriers to customer enrollment or retention, program communications, administrative concerns or issues, and program outreach. The CARES Advisory Group website provides you with access to meeting minutes and meeting recordings.

If you have comments or questions about any of the meetings, please email [email protected] Winter Help is an assistance program funded by customer and Company donations. Winter Help has provided bill assistance to more than 15,000 families since the program started in 1989. Cascade matches each dollar donated to Winter Help up to a yearly total of $50,000.

Contributions are tax deductible and are guaranteed to be used in your community.

If you would like to contribute a one-time donation or make a monthly pledge, please complete the Winter Help form | Spanish and mail it either with your gas payment or mail it with your donation to: If you are including your donation on your natural gas payment stub, please remember to check the box noted on your stub for your donation to be applied correctly.

Winter Help is registered under the Charitable Solicitations Act in Washington . Financial disclosure information may be obtained at 360-725-0378 . Call Cascade customer service at 888-522-1130 to apply for Winter Help.

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides income-qualified households with financial grants to be applied toward their energy bills. You may apply for this program at one of the Community Action Agencies listed below. Please note, these income guidelines are updated periodically, so be sure to check back regularly.

The Washington State Department of Commerce website provides income guidelines for LIHEAP. Cascade’s Washington LIHEAP brochure provides more information, including income guidelines, essential energy facts, and contact information in your area.

Weatherization Assistance Cascade is pleased to partner with Community Action Agencies in offering free home weatherization and energy efficiency improvements to income-qualified residential dwellings heated with natural gas. Please contact a Community Action Agency listed at the bottom of this page for additional information or to apply for weatherization assistance.

Your Community Action Agency will qualify you, perform an energy savings review, and install the energy efficiency and weatherization measures in your home. If needed, the Community Action Agency will also make any health and safety or weatherization-related repairs needed in the home prior to the installation of any energy efficiency measures.

Potential improvements may include: Insulation in attics, walls, and floors Insulation around duct work and hot water pipes Air sealing to prevent leaks, especially around windows and doors Heating and cooling system cleaning, tuning, and repairing Installation of high efficiency natural gas furnace and hot water heaters Community Action Agencies Blue Mountain Action Council Serving Walla Walla County Application available on their website or by phone Chelan-Douglas Community Action Council Serving Chelan and Douglas Counties Application available by phone Coastal Community Action Program Serving Grays Harbor County Application available on their website or by phone Community Action Connections (CAC) Serving Benton and Franklin counties Application available on their website Community Action Council of Lewis, Mason & Thurston Counties Application available on their website or by phone Community Action Agency of Skagit County Energy Scheduling Line: 360-428-1011 Kitsap Community Resources Application can be requested by emailing [email protected] Lower Columbia Community Action Program Application available on their website NW Community Action Center Serving south Yakima County Application available by phone Serving Adams and Grant Counties Application available by phone Reception line: 509-765-9206 Serving north Yakima County Application available by phone Reception line: 509-248-6751 Application available by phone Opportunity Council of Oak Harbor Application available by phone 231 SE Barrington Dr, Ste 100 Snohomish County Human Service Department All CARES program communications are provided in English and Spanish.

Cascade’s webpage ( www. cngc. com ) can be translated into the following languages: (Simplified) Japanese Somali English Khmer Spanish Filipino Korean Swahili French Punjabi Ukrainian Hmong Romanian Vietnamese Indonesian Russian If you need any Cascade communications translated, please call Customer Service at 888-522-1130 or email [email protected] .

Translation services are available when calling Customer Service. 211 works a bit like 911. Calls to 211 are routed to a local or regional calling center.

The 211 center’s referral specialists have databases of resources available from private and public health and human service agencies. They match callers’ needs to available resources and may refer callers to an agency or organization that can provide assistance.

Types of Referrals Offered by 211 Basic Human Needs Resources – food and clothing banks, shelters, rent assistance, and utility assistance Physical and Mental Health Resources – health insurance programs, Medicaid and Medicare, maternal health resources, health insurance programs for children, medical information lines, crisis intervention services, support groups, counseling, and drug and alcohol intervention and rehabilitation Work Support – financial assistance, job training, transportation assistance, and education programs Access to Services in Non-English Languages – language translation and interpretation services to help non-English-speaking people find public resources (Foreign language services vary by location) Support for Older Americans and Persons with Disabilities – adult day care, community meals, respite care, home health care, transportation, and homemaker services.

Children, Youth and Family Support – childcare, after-school programs, educational programs for low-income families, family resource centers, summer camps and recreation programs, mentoring, tutoring, and protective services Suicide Prevention – referral to suicide prevention help organizations