South Dakota Offers Air Conditioning Assistance

As temperatures start to rise, the South Dakota Department of Social Services (DSS) reminds everyone of an important initiative. DSS offers assistance for repair and replacement of air conditioning systems to South Dakotans who own their home and are eligible for the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program.

Eligibility for energy assistance is based on the number of people and income of all household members. To apply for energy assistance and receive help to repair or replace an air conditioning system visit:  https://dss.sd.gov/economicassistance/energyassistance/ or your local Community Action agency at: https://dss.sd.gov/economicassistance/communityassistance.aspx.
Air conditioner repair and replacement is based on a first-come basis. Payments are made to the energy supplier.
Four Community Action programs administer the air conditioner repair and replacement program for DSS. They include every county in the state:

• Inter-Lakes Community Action – Phone 605-256-6518 (www.interlakescap.com) It serves Brookings, Clark, Codington, Deuel, Grant, Hamlin, Kingsbury, Lake, McCook, Miner, Minnehaha, and Moody counties.
• Grow South Dakota – Phone 605-698-7654 (https://www.growsd.org/) It serves Beadle, Brown, Campbell, Day, Edmunds, Faulk, Hand, Hughes, Hyde, McPherson, Marshall, Potter, Roberts, Spink, Stanley, Sully, and Walworth counties.
• Rural Office of Community Services – Phone 605-384-3883 (www.rocsinc.org) It serves Aurora, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo, Charles Mix, Clay, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Hanson, Hutchinson, Jerauld, Jones, Lincoln, Lyman, Mellette, Sanborn, Todd, Tripp, Turner, Yankton, and Union counties.
• Western South Dakota Community Action – Phone 605-348-1460 (www.wsdca.org) It serves Bennett, Butte, Corson, Custer, Dewey, Fall River, Haakon, Harding, Jackson, Lawrence, Meade, Perkins, Oglala Lakota, Pennington, and Ziebach counties.

DSS also provides energy assistance to help low-income South Dakotans to pay for home heating costs. Applications can be submitted anytime for the upcoming winter.