CARES Act provides relief for propane businesses, customers

Propane industry businesses and customers look to benefit from President Donald Trump’s $2 trillion stimulus package, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which he signed into law March 27 in response to the pandemic sweeping the country.

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Included in the legislation was $900 million in emergency contingency funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps impoverished Americans pay for their heating and cooling bills. LIHEAP, through the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, has made more than $3 billion available to U.S. states, territories and tribal organizations annually in recent years.

The emergency contingency funding should help cover the energy costs for an additional 4 million homes across the country, says Michael Baker, director of legislative affairs at NPGA, during a webinar about COVID-19 resources and preventative practices. The coronavirus has driven millions of Americans to file for unemployment benefits.

The stimulus package also includes a Paycheck Protection Program, a Small Business Administration loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. Baker says small businesses with 500 or fewer employees are eligible, with some exceptions, for the $350 billion loan program. It is available through June 30.

“This is going to be a really big deal for our small businesses in the propane industry,” he adds.

The association says it continues to review details of the stimulus package as it also awaits to see whether Congress works to pass additional coronavirus relief packages.

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