UPDATE: Due to unprecedented high demand for energy assistance at Joint Utility Discount Day, the District Department of the Environment's Energy Office will take applications October 1-9 for those who received letters and cards at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Please bring these documents with you.
Apply in person at the DDOE Energy Office, Reeves Center, 14th and U Streets, NW, from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm. You can find more information here, or by calling (202) 673-6700.
Washington, DC – Several thousand low-income residents of the District of Columbia came to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center today to apply for discounts and financial assistance on all of their utility bills at a single location. At the annual Joint Utility Discount Day (JUDD), Mayor Adrian M. Fenty also announced that the District’s energy-assistance program served more constituents, and was open for more months of the year, than ever before.
“Economic pressures are in the news lately, both nationally and here in the District,” said Mayor Fenty. “I’m proud that we’ve been able to help more of our residents keep their homes heated and cooled.”
In Fiscal Year 2008 (ending today), the District gave energy assistance to more than 30,000 households, the most ever. More than 8,000 of those households had at least one child under the age of 5. The $18.7-million program was able to remain operating until September 12. It typically operates until late spring or early summer.
At JUDD, residents were able to begin the process of applying for energy assistance in the next fiscal year. The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) and the major area utility companies also offered home weatherization services and discounts on their electric, natural gas, water and telephone bills.
“It’s not too early to think about home heating bills,” said George Hawkins, Director of the District Department of the Environment (DDOE). “Our agency is proud to bring the utilities together every year to give District residents the help they need.”
DDOE has partnered with the Public Service Commission, the Office of the People’s Counsel, Pepco, Washington Gas, the DC Water and Sewer Authority and Verizon to put the event together.
For more information on how to receive energy assistance, call DDOE’s Energy Office at (202) 673-6700.