Low income heating assistance and shut-off protection program; creation; administration; purpose; duties of department.

(1) There is created a low income heating assistance and shut-off protection program. The program shall be administered by the department to prevent utility service shut-offs, promote awareness of and changes in energy use habits, promote conservation techniques, provide incentives for energy conservation, help reduce energy use by improving the housing stock, and provide relocation assistance. (2) The department shall do all of the following: (a) Coordinate weatherization efforts for assisted households. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of the social welfare act, 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.1 to 400.119b, and subject to restrictions prescribed by federal regulations governing temporary assistance to needy families or other federal programs, rules of the department, or otherwise, for preventing the disclosure of confidential information to any person not authorized by law to receive the confidential information, on an annual basis, the department shall make available to an energy provider information concerning applicants for, and recipients of, public assistance, the disclosure of which is necessary and the use of which is strictly limited to the purpose of an energy provider administering a program created by statute or by order of the Michigan public service commission and intended to assist applicants for, or recipients of, public assistance in defraying their energy costs or preventing or delaying utility disconnection. (c) Expand the department's energy crisis intervention services within available resources. The department shall review and make recommendations concerning cases of assisted households having natural gas use or electrical consumption that exceeds the annual consumption cap, and shall expand its effort to identify dwellings that cannot be made energy-efficient and help relocate those assisted households to more energy efficient dwellings if reasonable alternative housing is available. The department shall determine whether a dwelling cannot be made energy efficient. (d) Develop and implement a uniform record keeping and reporting system for the program. (e) Establish monitoring criteria for program evaluation that shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: (i) The number of assisted households that exceed the annual consumption cap. (ii) The average consumption both before and after weatherization for each assisted household. (iii) The number of shut-offs of heating service to assisted households. (iv) The number of dwellings of assisted households weatherized.