Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP)

If you are behind on your electricity bill, you may qualify for emergency financial help through the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP). LEAP provides emergency payment support up to $500 ($600 if your home is electrically heated) per calendar year, which is directly credited to your electricity bill.

Do you qualify?

In order to be eligible for a LEAP grant, applicants must:

i. be an existing customer of Festival Hydro;

ii. reside at the address for which there are arrears; and

iii. have an after-tax household income at or below the thresholds set out below^:

Net Household Income	1 Person	2 People	3 People	4 People	5 People	6 People	7+ People
</= $28,000	Eligible	Eligible	Eligible	Eligible	Eligible	Eligible	Eligible
$28,001- $39,000			Eligible	Eligible	Eligible	Eligible	Eligible
$39, 001- $48,000					Eligible	Eligible	Eligible
$48,001- $52,000							Eligible

^{(derived from Statistics Canada Low-Income Measure)}

The assistance is only available if you are behind on your bill (in arrears) and you qualify, as noted in the guidelines above.

The payment support is meant to provide emergency relief and does not provide regular or ongoing bill payment assistance. The emergency funding will go towards an outstanding balance in electricity (only). The customer must also demonstrate previous attempts to pay and sustainability of paying their Festival Hydro bill after the emergency assistance.

For information about applying for LEAP funding please contact:

City of Stratford, Social Service Department

Phone: 519-271-3773 x 200

Hours: 8:30 – 4:30, Monday – Friday