Beginning April 12, 2021, millions of dollars in federal assistance will be available to households behind on rent and electric through the Hawai‘i County Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
The program will provide rent and utility grants to an estimated 3,400 qualifying households for up to 12 months. It is administered by Hawai‘i Community Lending through six nonprofit partners.
Disconnections for nonpayment and collections activities have been suspended for more than a year as part of Hawaiian Electric’s effort to help households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The moratorium is set to end on May 31. However, the County of Hawai‘i is leveraging millions in federal funds for rent and utility assistance.
To qualify, renters must be Hawai‘i Island residents at least 18 years old with lost income due to COVID-19. Renters must be earning at or below 80 percent of annual median income for the number of members in their household. Priority will be given to households at or below 50 percent of annual median income with household members who have been unemployed for at least 90 days from the date of application.
To apply, contact any of the following partners starting April 12:
• HOPE Services Hawai‘i
ERAP@hopeserviceshawaii.org
935-3050
• Hawai‘i First Federal Credit Union
empower@hawaiifirstfcu.com
933-6600
• Neighborhood Place of Puna
ERAP@neighborhoodplace.org
965-5550
• Habitat for Humanity Hawai‘i Island
rmap@habitathawaiiisland.org
843-0071
• The Salvation Army
ERAP@usw.salvationarmy.org
935-1277
• Hawai‘i County Economic Opportunity Council
ERAP@hceoc.net
932-2714
While the end of the moratorium won’t trigger immediate disconnections, disconnections cannot be suspended indefinitely. Customers having difficulty paying their bills are urged to apply for the federally funded rent and utility assistance while it is available. For additional assistance, customers should submit a payment arrangement request to ensure uninterrupted service.
Customers can go to hawaiianelectric.com/paymentarrangement to submit a request.
“Our goal is to ensure that every Hawaiian Electric customer stays connected,” said Shelee Kimura, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president of customer service in a press release. Kimura continued, “to do this, we are working collaboratively with government and community partners to support customers still dealing with the financial toll of the pandemic, and we have made our most flexible payment options available to even more customers.”
Hawaiian Electric is reaching out to residential and business customers who have fallen furthest behind. Residential and smaller commercial customers with a past due balance are being offered deferred and 4-, 8- or 12-month payment arrangement options (no interest or late fees).
Go to hawaiianelectric.com/COVID19 for assistance managing energy costs,