Operation Fuel, Inc.

Operation Fuel’s mission is to ensure equitable access to energy for all by providing year-round energy and utility assistance, promoting energy independence, and advocating for affordable energy. Our main goal is to provide energy assistance for low- to moderate-income households. As the state's sole fuel fund, our primary objective is to provide energy grants throughout the year, ensuring struggling families can heat their homes and keep the lights on.

These are our priorities:

1) Provide emergency energy assistance to low- and moderate-income families so they can heat their homes in the winter.

2) Keep the lights on. We provide grants for electric bills even when electricity is not the primary energy source for heating the home, unlike other government programs.

3) Assist families from having to make trade-offs with other basic necessities like food so they won’t have to go hungry because they cannot afford their utility bills.

4) Safeguard families from homelessness. With our support, families have more money for rent and also don’t risk being evicted because of a utility shut-off.

5) Keep families together. Not having working utilities is considered child neglect, and children can be removed from the home.

6) Preserve family safety. Sometimes families use hazardous methods to stay warm such as gas from an oven.

7) Keep families healthy. Families sometimes get sick from being exposed to cold temperatures, and some forgo important medications so they can pay their utility bills, also creating health problems.

Operation Fuel provides emergency energy assistance throughout the year for low- and moderate-income residents living in Connecticut. To provide energy grants throughout the state, Operation Fuel uses a network of community partners that serve as local fuel banks which are in direct contact with local struggling families. For example, some residents can go to their local town’s social services department or local community-based organizations to fill out an application. Staff at the fuel bank site help determine an applicant’s income eligibility, assist with the application, and allocate funds that Operation Fuel raises for emergency energy assistance. Operation Fuel oversees the process and approves applications through a centralized, web-based system. Operation Fuel then makes grants which range from $250-500 to struggling families; these grants are paid directly to utility vendors. Our network partners facilitate oil deliveries, stop utility shut-offs, arrange for service reconnection, and negotiate with energy vendors to enable clients to work out a reasonable payment schedule based on their budget constraints. Operation Fuel provides technical assistance and funds to fuel banks, and, through oversight, ensures the fiscal and program integrity of low-income energy assistance distribution in Connecticut. All applicants receiving support from Operation Fuel’s emergency energy assistance program meet income eligibility requirements and one or more of the following criteria:

• Received a utility shutoff notice
• Are at risk for receiving a shutoff notice
• Have no utility service
• Require a deliverable fuel to maintain/restore heat
• Need assistance making a required payment to maintain an arrangement with their utility vendor

Operation Fuel is now a year-round program accepting applications every season as funding permits. Operation Fuel is also the only source of support for Connecticut residents who are ineligible for public assistance or who need help with electric bills when their main source of heat is oil or gas. Some people eligible for federal funding to pay for heat during the cold weather months don’t receive assistance for their electric bills. In these cases, government assistance may not meet its goal of helping people heat their homes because, without electricity, families cannot run a water pump, heat hot water, or start a furnace. Operation Fuel assists with all types of energy needed to heat, cool, or light a home throughout the year, not just the winter. Electricity during the summer months is important beyond cooling a home and comfort. Some people with medical conditions need air conditioning, the ability to store their medications at refrigerated temperatures, and operate medical devices. Electricity is vital to store perishable foods, run appliances including stoves which are necessary for cooking, and to operate water pumps needed for laundry and basic hygiene such as hand washing.

Operation Fuel is the country’s oldest fuel fund, serving as a model across the United States. It was founded in 1977, after a worldwide oil embargo caused an unprecedented escalation in the price of home heating. To address the crisis in Connecticut, a collaboration among religious communities, industry leaders, and Governor Ella Grasso created Operation Fuel, intended to provide temporary relief for residents who fell through the gaps of government assistance programs. Operation Fuel raised and distributed funds to struggling households. Though the oil embargo is long over, energy affordability is still a crisis for too many Connecticut residents. Operation Fuel remains the primary source of assistance for low- to moderate-income households that have exhausted other options for keeping their homes warm and their lights on. Our mission statement is to ensure equitable access to energy for all by providing year-round energy and utility assistance, promoting energy independence, and advocating for affordable energy. Operation Fuel’s primary goal is to provide emergency energy assistance to low- and moderate-income families.

Operation Fuel’s main program is emergency energy assistance for low- and moderate-income families reaching every town and city in Connecticut. Last fiscal year, Operation Fuel distributed $2,361,823 in emergency energy assistance to low- and moderate-income individuals and families across Connecticut. Our support assisted over 5,464 struggling households. In addition to assisting with paying gas, electricity, and oil bills, we are now also helping families with the cost of their water bill. In 2017, Operation Fuel created a water assistance program, in partnership with the MDC (Metropolitan District), to help consumers with their water utility costs. Last fiscal year, we distributed an additional $63,073 in water assistance to 171 households with the support of MDC and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. This year, we created a partnership with Aquarion Water Company and Connecticut Water to assist low-income consumers with their water bills and can help more families. In 2015, the Home System Repair and Replacement Program was launched to help low-income consumers in need of boiler, furnace, and water heater repairs. In 2013, we developed the Homelessness Intervention and Prevention Program (HIPP), which assists homeless families and individuals and those threatened by homelessness to pay for their energy costs. The program has since supported more than 300 households.

We also advocate for the energy needs of low- and moderate-income families through national and statewide networks. Operation Fuel is committed to finding long-term solutions to the problem of energy affordability. We believe that instituting a discounted utility rate for low-income households, including people on fixed incomes, is one such solution. Connecticut is the only state in the Northeast without such a rate.

We are also launching an online public portal for clients to complete their applications for emergency energy assistance directly to Operation Fuel in addition to applying through our fuel banks. This will make possible for anyone with access to a computer or a smartphone to complete an application for assistance without having to go to a fuel bank making it easier for those who have child care, work schedule or transportation issues. Also, we are refreshing our website to make it simpler for users to get help and give help.