August is LIHEAP Action month, and Atmos Energy is raising awareness about the importance of this program. Every winter, families across the country face an urgent question: how to keep the heat on? For those living on limited incomes, energy costs can turn cold weather into a real crisis. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) exists to offer critical help providing support for heating bills, emergency repairs, and weatherization services that protect lives.

LIHEAP is more than just utility assistance. It helps working families, seniors, veterans, children under six, and those with medical conditions stay connected with the support of energy efficiency upgrades that lower long-term costs. Executive Director Amanda Shelton of the Texas Association of Community Action Agencies explains, "Our statewide network of local, community-based organizations ensures that fewer Texans must make really tough choices between food, formula, medicine and keeping the lights on. This life-saving program has always been about more than energy; it helps keep opportunity within reach."

A recent Senate Appropriations Committee voted to keep and increase LIHEAP’s funding by $20 million. These additional funds will increase LIHEAP's reach.

At Atmos Energy, we know that access to safe and reliable heat isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. That is why we support LIHEAP with more than funding. We work to educate our customers and communities about what this program is, who it serves, and how it can help.

“Many people who need LIHEAP the most have never heard of it,” said Bree Boyd, Atmos Energy’s supervisor of energy assistance. “We want to change that. If we can help even one family stay warm this winter, then all the outreach is worth it. We’ve seen how powerful a single conversation can be. When someone realizes there’s a program that can help them avoid choosing between heat and groceries, it’s like a weight is lifted off their shoulders,” added Boyd.

Thanks to this federal program, Atmos Energy customers received $14.8 million in LIHEAP bill assistance during fiscal year 2024. These are funds that directly support families in the 1,400 communities we serve. these dollars helped prevent shutoffs, fund emergency repairs, and provided warmth to over 32,000 households during the most challenging days of winter. "This isn't just about dollars, it's about dignity," said Diana Marin, Atmos Energy's manager of customer advocacy. "No one should have to live in a cold home, especially when solutions exist. By raising awareness, we’re making sure more people know that help is available and that they’re not alone. At Atmos Energy, we’re proud to support and spread awareness of this program.”

Mike Burnett, executive director of Concho Valley Community Action Agency, expounded that LIHEAP can help beyond funding for utility bills. The program also assists in natural disaster and crisis recovery, financial limitations, and difficult personal circumstances. He stated that, after the July flooding in Central Texas, his organization has been able to divert some funds to emergency shelters for affected households through the Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program (CEAP), which is the Texas program that distributes LIHEAP funding. “We have over 400 individuals in hotels right now,” said Burnett. “This will be an ongoing situation for a few more weeks while we work with the Red Cross and other local agencies to transition them into longer-term housing. Without these funds, we would not have been able to get people into shelter as fast as we did.”

Burnett also gave an inspiring example of CEAP helping people with tough personal circumstances. Burnett mentioned the story of a single mother household that they were working with in the Transition Out of Poverty program, which is funded by the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG). “We were helping her get through nursing school, while she worked and managed her household of two kids. CEAP allowed our program to stabilize her household while finishing school, letting her resources go further. When she graduated with a nursing degree, she wrote us a letter saying how her oldest child said that she saw her persevere through the late nights, the studying, the homework, her job, and still doing the mom things. It inspired her oldest to say that she now wants to go to college too, and to be able to provide for her future family. That right there is what we do, we change family trees.”

Burnett added, “We couldn’t do it without the funding, especially without partner funding like we get from Atmos Energy. The team is good at pairing up assistance from different funding sources to get the most help to households. We regularly take CEAP, assess the max benefits we can give and any other needs the households might have, and then start piecing together what other help we can offer."

Atmos Energy proudly continues Fueling Safe and Thriving Communities through paring with critical programs such as LIHEAP, whose resources stretch far and wide to aid individuals and families experiencing financial difficult. In doing so, we positively impact the communities we serve.