del norte senior center
community action partnership of del norte
TO OUR UTILITY ASSISTANCE CUSTOMERS: ABOUT PRIORITY POINTS
As many of you know, the Del Norte Senior Center administers the Federal Low-Income Household Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in Del Norte County. In the past, DNSC received enough LIHEAP money through the State Department of Community Services and Development to help every household that applied. That is no longer the case. Beginning in 2025, the state's funding formula changed. More funds were allocated to inland, hotter areas of the state and less went to more temperate coastal areas. Because of this change, Del Norte County lost nearly $370,000 in funding between 2024 and 2026.
Because we can no longer serve everyone who applies, we must prioritize applications according to need. To make sure applications are ranked fairly, the state has developed a priority point formula to rank household need. Priority points are calculated based on three factors set by the state:
- Income – The lower a household’s income, the higher the points assigned.
- Energy Burden – The greater the percentage of a household’s income is spent on energy costs, the higher the points assigned.
- Vulnerable populations – A household is assigned points if it has members who are 5 years or younger; 2 years or younger; 60 years or older; 70 years or older; or disabled.
During the application process, a household receives an overall priority point score. The higher the score, the greater the household’s need for assistance. At this time, we only have enough funding to assist households with a priority point score of 30 or more.
We understand that this change may mean that households who have received assistance for years may no longer be able to get help. We will keep all applications on file and revisit those with lower priority points if additional funding becomes available.
Thank you.
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