Heating solution far from ideal
Winter snow is here, and the Legislature has still not found a fix for financing the Low Income and Energy Efficiency Fund, or LIEEF. In July, a state appellate court struck down the financing structure for this fund, which has been helping low-income Michiganders keep the heat on through the winter for years.
For the last decade, LIEEF has been funded by excess revenue from energy companies. Every time an energy company raised its rates, it was required to set aside a portion of its new revenue, which was then distributed by the Michigan Public Service Commission to the Department of Human Services and to community organizations like the Salvation Army and the Michigan Heat and Warmth Fund, which ensured that this money went to families facing the threat of shutoff.
LIEEF money last year, combined with federal funds for heating assistance (LIHEAP), helped over 600,000 households in the state pay their energy bills. For years, LIEEF has been an effective program, which has helped protect Michigan families through the cold winter months.
The court’s decision had nothing to do with how effective the program was but rather with a legislative drafting error from three years ago. LIEEF is still collecting money this year, and over $40 million is currently being held in escrow, awaiting legislative action to restore MPSC as the administrator of these funds.
But, rather than take up HB 5008, which is a simple fix to restore LIEEF, lawmakers have mobilized around HB 5190 and HB 5198. These bills would instead abolish LIEEF entirely, refund the monies currently held in escrow, and provide a temporary fix for this winter using $62 million in TANF dollars for energy assistance. Certainly, any fix, even a temporary one, is better than no fix, but as Representatives Ellen Cogen Lipton, Stacy Erwin Oakes, and Jeff Irwin ask in an open letter this week, why fix a program which simply isn’t broken?
LIEEF works and all that needs to be done is for the Legislature to restore MPSC’s oversight of the fund. HB 5008 offers a permanent solution, whereas House Bills 5190 and 5198 make no assurances that there will be any state money available for energy assistance programs next year.
– Taylor Long
