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December 12, 2001
Naperville, Ill., December 12, 2001 -- Over 1,000 Nicor Gas customers recently opened an early holiday gift. Their Nicor Gas bill reflected a credit that erased high balances carried over from last year's unprecedented gas costs. At the same time, local non-profit organizations in northern Illinois are reveling from the benefits garnered from over 40,000 volunteer hours that were generated by the Nicor Gas / LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) Hand-in-Hand Program.
The pilot program, which ran from July 2, 2001 through September 30, 2001, allowed qualifying Nicor Gas customers to exchange community service hours for a reduction in their outstanding Nicor Gas bills. Most participants received their credit on their November Nicor Gas statement. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA) funded the Hand-in-Hand pilot program through LIHEAP with a $460,000 grant.
Program Answers Financial Need
The Hand-in-Hand program was created to give Nicor customers who were unable to pay their gas bills from last winter, a way to reduce their outstanding balances. "We realized the financial struggle our low-income customers faced following last winter's unprecedented high natural gas costs," said Tom Fisher, chairman, president and CEO of Nicor Gas. "We created the Hand-in-Hand program to provide this additional assistance so these customers could reduce their balances."
Program Specifics
Participants in the Participants in the Hand-in-Hand program paid their outstanding natural gas bills by exchanging each hour they volunteered at a not-for-profit organization, and/or participated in approved work experience or job training skills development activities, and/or attended a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) training program, for a $10 reduction of their Nicor Gas account balance. In order to obtain the Hand-in-Hand benefit, participants had to complete all hours necessary to bring their account balance to zero, with a maximum benefit of $750.
The Hand-in-Hand program included the Adopt-a-Family component, which allowed over 875 participants who were senior citizens and disabled individuals to benefit from the program through volunteer hours donated by individuals in the community. Volunteers donated their community service time at the rate of $10 for each volunteer hour. The Nicor Gas/ LIHEAP Hand-in-Hand pilot program was conducted in these areas of the Nicor service territory: Aurora, Kankakee, Joliet, Rockford, Proviso Township (and Cicero, Berwyn) and portions of South Cook County. Qualified customers were pre-screened and notified of their participation opportunity.
The non-profit organizations in northern Illinois who benefited from the volunteer hours created by the program include: United Way of the Aurora, United Way of Will County; United Way of Kankakee County; The Salvation Army serving Aurora, Cicero, Joliet, Kankakee, Norridge, Rockford, and Chicago Heights; Kankakee County Community Services; City of Rockford Human Services Department; City of Chicago Heights; Sertoma Center in Alsip, and CEDA (Center for Community Action) in Harvey and Robbins.
Nicor (NYSE: GAS) is a holding company. Its principal businesses are Nicor Gas, one of the nation's largest gas distribution companies, and Tropical Shipping, a containerized shipping business serving the Caribbean region. Nicor also owns several unregulated energy-related businesses and is a partner in Nicor Energy, a retail energy marketer. For more information, visit the Nicor website at www.nicor.com. |
