Enduring the heat

Friday, July 25, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

This is the time of year in Southern Nevada when air conditioners get their heaviest workouts. Short of experiencing an equipment malfunction or temporary power outage, most valley residents take it for granted that when they’re home, they can get cool air on demand to overcome triple-digit heat.

Thousands of poor individuals are not as fortunate. They often must choose between paying for utilities or for other essentials such as housing, food and medicine.

The Energy Assistance Program run by the state’s Welfare and Supportive Services Division was supposed to change that. Financed mostly by utility bill surcharges and supplemented by federal grants, the program eventually became so popular that nearly 30,000 households are now seeking assistance.

But reporter Timothy Pratt wrote in Wednesday’s Las Vegas Sun that there is also a two-month backlog of applicants due to a decline in reserves.

The shortage has forced the division to limit the amount of assistance to individuals, meaning they may have to go without electricity or gas at some point before the end of the year. Pratt wrote about one Social Security recipient who had exhausted his annual allocation after paying his June electric bill.

The state should not let this program run dry because most of the recipients — elderly and disabled residents — are particularly vulnerable to extreme temperatures. It is pathetic that Nevada would allow such a worthy program to wither away. But considering the occupant of the Governor’s Mansion, and how his budget-slashing, “no new taxes” credo has crippled state government, it would not surprise us if other beneficial programs also go by the wayside.