Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - You may be shocked to find an increase in your electric bill, depending on how much you used to cool your home last week. The good news is there is help available, if you need it to pay that bill.
National Grid's David Bertola says that increase will vary from customer-to-customer.
"Perhaps you had a house full of people, maybe the kids are home from from college, but they're working and both mom and dad left the house for the day and didn't have to air conditioned the house at all, or decided to maybe not run the pool pump this week to to conserve energy. Their billing might be different compared to a similar household that did the exact opposite, maybe like the house down to 67 degrees and maybe use you stayed home and went for a swim and have had the filter going," explained Bertola in an interview with WBEN.
Bertola says National Grid can help if your next bill comes out higher than usual.
"We have a budget plan that we can offer, we can also offer some customers more time to pay. You can talk to one of our consumer advocates about our programs, you might be eligible to receive monthly bill credits," he said.
Erie County can also help through the HEAP program. Dan Szwec says he gets calls daily from people having trouble paying their electric bills to keep cool.
"People are still in emergency status with their electric costs," noted Szwec with WBEN.
He says based on income and other factors, you could get up to $400 to help pay the electric bill.
Szwec notes you can apply not just for help with bills.
"People have been calling about the air conditioner program," Szwec said.
He says a participant can select a vendor, otherwise the heat program will select a vendor.
"They'll come out, do an assessment of the house and see what size air conditioner is needed. They're generally window air conditioners," Szewc said.
If a window air conditioner does not work, he says a fan will be offered. They're installed in a couple of days to a week.