Contact: NOVEC Public Relations, 1-888-335-0500, customerservice@novec.com
MANASSAS, Va. —The Northern Virginia
Electric Cooperative and the Virginia
Department of Social Services are offering programs that will help low-income
Virginians stay warm this winter. NOVEC encourages its customer-owners to participate
in Operation Round Up®(ORU), which provides heating assistance to qualified
recipients, and the Co-op encourages low-income people to apply for fuel
assistance between Oct. 14 and Nov. 14 through VDSS's Energy Assistance Program.
"Last winter was brutal,"
states Mike Curtis, NOVEC vice president, public relations. "Many people had
trouble paying their heating bills after two polar vortices stretched down from
the Arctic into the Midwest, South and East. We're hoping this winter won't be
as cold, but we're still urging Co-op members to help low-income people by
participating in ORU."
By participating in ORU,
NOVEC customers agree to have their monthly bills rounded up to the nearest
dollar. For example, if a bill is $89.54, NOVEC will round it up to $90 and put
the extra 46¢ in the ORU fund. Customers who participate donate approximately
$6 a year. Because NOVEC absorbs all administration costs, 100 percent of all
donations go into the fund.
How to Participate in Operation Round Up®
NOVEC customers may join ORU
online at www.novec.com/community; select Operation Round Up®.Or they may call Customer Service, Monday
through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., at 703-335-0500 or toll-free: 1-888-335-0500.
Anyone who is not a Co-op member,
but would like to donate to ORU, may send a check in any amount, payable to NOVEC
Operation Round Up, to: NOVEC, P.O.
Box 2710, Manassas, VA 20108.
How ORU Helps People Stay Warm
After receiving donations,
the ORU board, composed of NOVEC customer-owners, sends donations to:
- The Salvation
Army, Loudoun County
- The Salvation
Army, Fairfax County
- Action in
Community Through Service (ACTS), Prince William County
- SERVE, a program
of Northern Virginia Family Service,Prince William County
- SERVE, Inc.,
Stafford County
- Fauquier Family
Shelter Services, Fauquier County
Virginia Department of Social Services' Energy Assistance Program
Applications for fuel assistance from the VDSS's Energy Assistance Program (EAP) will be accepted from Oct. 14 through Nov. 14. The program assists with various types of heating sources, including electricity, natural and liquid propane gas, oil, kerosene, coal, and wood. A federal block grant from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds EAP. For more information on the EAP visit www.dss.virginia.gov/benefit/ea/index.cgi.
Families and individuals can apply for assistance online at https://commonhelp.virginia.gov/access or at their local department of social services office, www.dss.virginia.gov/localagency. Applications can be printed from www.dss.virginia.gov/benefit/ea/index.cgi, or an applicant can request that the local department mail an application. Applications can be submitted online or by mail, fax, or in person at a local department of social services.
To qualify for fuel assistance, the maximum gross monthly income for a one-person household cannot exceed $1,265. For a household of four, the maximum gross monthly income is $2,584. VDSS Information and Referral Services, 2-1-1 VIRGINIA, can be contacted for information on many community partners, community action agencies, and non-profit organizations across the Commonwealth that may help meet the financial needs of Virginia citizens. Find out more at www.211virginia.org or by dialing '211' on the telephone.
