Iowa's annual winter time moratorium on utility disconnections ends Thursday, but help is available for people who are behind on their bills.
Roger Pavey, Executive Director of Community Action of Eastern Iowa, says the accounts of more than 37,000 residential customers in Iowa are past due.
"I would say that I think the variance in the amount that's owed is different this year because some households have been out of work for an extended period of time. The number of people with large, unpaid balances is more significant than in previous years."
He urges anyone who's received a dis-connection notice to contact Community Action right away because help is available, but it can take a couple of days to process an application.
People can qualify for assistance from LIHEAP, the low income home energy assistance program, but also the state of Iowa has a special program for renters who've lost income due to the pandemic - it's from the Iowa Finance Authority (iowahousingrecovery.com).
In addition his agency, and others across the country will receive money from the federal stimulus bill, but he doesn't know how much and when it'll be available.
