Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP)
**No new PIPP funding is available at this time.**
The Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP) is a part of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and is funded by the State of Illinois. Rather than receiving the one time DVP from LIHEAP, PIPP allows clients to enroll in a budget plan and receive a monthly payment toward their budget bill amount.
The client portion of the monthly budget bill is based on 6% of the entire household’s 30-day gross income. The client must make their monthly portion on time every month and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will pay a portion of the client’s utility bill every month not to exceed $150.00 per month.
Your certification with PIPP is good for one year as long as there are no changes in your household, and the PIPP program remains funded by the State of Illinois. If you move during that year and you want to stay on the PIPP program you must inform our agency before you move and we will need to assess your situation and see if you meet the requirements for recertification at your new residence. If you move out of our territory, you will need to contact the agency in the new territory that houses the PIPP program and see if they have any PIPP funds available for new clients in their territory.
If it is determined that you do not meet the qualifications to stay on PIPP, you cannot receive LIHEAP during the same program year. If you are terminated from PIPP for any reason, you cannot receive PIPP or LIHEAP in the same program year. You can reapply at the beginning of our next program year for PIPP or LIHEAP.
The main objective of PIPP is to make your energy bill more affordable and to help maintain your home energy service throughout the year. PIPP is designed to help reduce your bills only if you make the required full monthly payments. When you enroll in PIPP, you are also entered into a monthly budget payment plan with a participating PIPP utility company. The 30-day gross income guidelines are as follows:
As long as PIPP funding is available, new applicants can be enrolled at the beginning of the new program year, normally October, until funding is exhausted. When PIPP funding is available, customers will be shown a comparison between LIHEAP and PIPP benefits and given a choice of which program he/she would like to receive. Once PIPP funding is exhausted, all remaining customers will only be eligible for LIHEAP.
For more information, please call either the Pekin or the Bloomington office.