A record number of requests has been made this winter to a Pittsburgh nonprofit that doles out funds to help people pay their rising utility bills.
As of late December, Dollar Energy Fund had processed $2.5 million to 6,100 Pennsylvania households since October — a 131% increase over the same time the previous year.
The nonprofit works with utility providers to help customers pay their bills, often through grants or utility credits.
More than $1 million in grants have gone to about 2,300 Allegheny County households, which has seen a 45% increase in use of the fund compared to 2024.
In Butler County, the number of grant recipients has more than quadrupled from 40 to 177 households.
The number of grants in Westmoreland County has tripled to 256 households, while demand in Armstrong County has gone up 1½ times to 62 households.
Collectively, Butler, Westmoreland and Armstrong counties account for another nearly $200,000 in grants.
The spike in need likely was caused by a delay in funds from the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) as a result of the government shutdown last year. LIHEAP normally starts taking applications in November, but that was delayed about a month.
Since 2024, winter heating costs nationally for natural gas users are up 8% and 12% for those who rely on electric heating. That’s according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, a collective of state agencies that help low-income households with utility bills.
In Pennsylvania, electric bills have risen by 13% since last year — and 40% since 2021. That’s among the highest in the nation.
Dollar Energy Fund spokeswoman Jody Robertson said the nonprofit saw a spike in applications since the covid-19 pandemic.
Peoples Gas, one of utility companies that partners with the fund, has seen an increase in customers receiving grants this winter, said Director of Community Assistance Programs Rita Black.
The rising costs of utilities and other basic needs, like groceries, has been on customers’ minds for a while, Black said.
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“I think affordability costs are on the minds of all consumers,” she said.
The Dollar Energy Fund — which operates with funds from corporate and private donations and aid from utility companies — runs out of money in its hardship fund nearly every year, Robertson said.
“We try to meet the needs of everyone who comes to us, but at a certain point those funds are going to run out,” she said.
When funds begin to run low, Robertson said, the nonprofit will focus solely on those who have had their utility service terminated or are facing imminent termination.
During the 2024-25 year, Dollar Energy Fund distributed more than $7.6 million in grants to almost 20,000 households, which was about 5,000 more than the previous year.
