SUB announces fund to pay for customers' ice storm cost
The Springfield Utility Board and Catholic Community Services have announced a fund to provide financial assistance to SUB customers who incurred financial cost from this January's ice storm.
That cost "could include needing to replace groceries, get gas for generators, hotel stays, tree damage, damage to their home, etc," SUB spokesperson Meredith Clark told the Register-Guard.
Springfield was especially hard-hit by the 2024 ice storm, and SUB experienced outages from Jan. 13 to Jan. 28, with the utility acknowledging some customers went 11 days without power.
Clark said there aren't strict guidelines on what documentation is needed, but customers should supply the documentation they can. "For example, if they went to a hotel but didn’t keep the receipt, they can provide a credit card receipt or can ask the hotel to issue a receipt."
Customers must earn no more than 125% of area median income to qualify, which is $69,700 for a single person or $133,950 for a family of four. Payouts are capped at $250 per household, and the program will run from Monday, March 18 at 8 a.m. until SUB pays out $250,000 total.
SUB said Catholic Community Services will review applications and pay people with Visa gift cards by April 5.
To apply, go to https://www.ccslc.org/sub-ice-storm-assistance-program.
Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached over email at atorres@register.com or on X @alanfryetorres.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: How SUB customers can apply for ice storm reimbursement
