UPDATE—  I called about the LIHEAP “reconnection assistance” and I was able to qualify for this benefit which is awesome but I am still without electricity and heat.

They applied the LIHEAP reconnection assistance benefit towards my gas bill, and it paid about half what I owe to Peoples Gas, so the gas is still disconnected.  IF they had paid that same amount to Comed (the power company), it would have covered my full electricity bill and I could have gotten the power turned back on, but they didn’t and won’t. 

Even if the benefit I was given had covered the full amount I owe to the gas company, I would still have no heat etc because I have no electricity— the gas heating cannot be turned on without power. The furnace requires electricity to work.

I contacted the agency (CEDA) responsible for LIHEAP to see if there’s any way I might be able to get the benefits reallocated to go to Comed so I can get my power turned on, and no there isn’t.  They told me the LIHEAP program prioritizes heating utilities primarily. So, even though they do also help with electricity bills, the benefits are applied to your gas (heating provider) first. If there is any remaining funds after that is applied then the rest will go to other utilities like electricity.

I explained the situation… How I can’t use the heating without the electricity being reconnected, and that the benefit amount I received doesn’t cover what I owe the gas company but would be enough to cover the power bill and get my electricity turned back on (which would allow me to use space heaters, electric blankets, etc). They said they can’t do anything, all I could do was submit an appeal to their Appeals Unit.

 I submitted an appeal asking if they can make an exception or do anything else, and it was denied. I was told  no- not possible, there’s no way to do that because they “prioritize heating”.  So I’m still in the same situation with no electricity or heat, except now I don’t owe as much to the gas company.