CARES Act Utility Funding Program

Governor Justice has recently allocated $25 million of CARES Act funds to provide much needed relief to West Virginians who are struggling to pay their utility bills. The CARES Act provides that payments may be made on behalf of customers who have suffered economic hardships caused by COVID-19 to allow them to pay their accumulated unpaid bill(s). Governor Justice has determined to make CARES Act funding available to such customers to pay utility bills for service provided on or after March 1, 2020.

For a list of public utilities within Region 3 that are eligible for funding click, HERE.

Utility companies must apply for the grant through the state of West VIrginia. Customers may contact their local utility provider to see if assistance is being offered. If so, individuals may apply to their utility company directly.

In order to apply, utility providers must:

Send a notice to customers (with subject title of “Notice of COVID-19 Utility Services Grant Funding Availabiliy”). Specifics on this notice an example notice letter can be found here.
Once notice is sent, customers may apply to their utility company for assistance with paying past-due utility bills during the eligible period. Unpaid balances outside of the eligible period are not covered.
All utility providers must be a registered vendor with the State of West Virginia in order to access the https://grants.wv.gov online portal and receive payments. If the utility service provider is not a registered ventor, they may apply at https://www.wvoasis.gov.

To view the letter from Governor Justice explaining the funding and requirements, click HERE.

For a list of responses to commonly asked questions about the new utility grant funding, click HERE.

To apply for the grant fund as a utility provider, visit grants.wv.gov.
Application is due November 12th

For assistance with the application or for any additional questions, contact Terry Martin at terrymartin@wvregion3.org.