State’s Utility Assistance Fund Runs Out of Money
Style Magazine Newswire | 1/13/2017, 9:49 a.m.
As the temperatures plummet, many low-income families will have to make a difficult choice: turn on the heat or pay for groceries. That's the new reality now that the state's Lite-Up Texas fund has run out of money. The program was funded by ratepayers in competitive markets across Texas who paid a surcharge on their monthly bill of about $1, according to the Public Utilities Commissions. That money was used to offer low-income residents financial assistance, providing them with a discount on their electric bills. The fund was estimated to continue until August 2017, but by Sept. 1, 2016, all the money was gone.
