During the coldest months of the year, many families in the Capital region are unable to afford their heating costs. Thanks to the Washington Area Fuel Fund (WAFF) and the generous donations of area residents, support is now available to those who do not qualify for, or have exhausted, all other forms of government energy assistance. For 28 years, Washington Gas and The Salvation Army have been assisting qualified area residents in heating their homes. Applications are being accepted at Washington area Salvation Army offices through May 31. Anyone requiring assistance in paying their heating bills is urged to apply.

"Even if you have been turned away from other sources of assistance, you may still qualify for WAFF funds," said Major Steve Morris, Area Commander, National Capital Area Command of The Salvation Army.

WAFF pays for all types of fuel used as the primary heating source. Washington Gas pays the fund's administrative fees and The Salvation Army administers and disburses the funds; this ensures 100 percent of the money donated to WAFF goes to helping area families.

"WAFF assistance provides essential resources to those who cannot otherwise afford to heat their homes," said Eric Grant, Vice President of Corporate Relations for Washington Gas. "This support could not come at a better time for those families in need of warmth this winter."

WAFF assisted more than 6,800 area residents in 2011, disbursing over $780,000 to help pay for winter heating bills. Since 1983, WAFF has disbursed more than $21.2 million to help more than 247,000 people.

Visit the WAFF website at washingtonareafuelfund.org, where you will find valuable information about getting help with heating costs. Visitors to the website also can make donations to the fund.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., WGL Holdings, Inc. has four operating segments: (i) the regulated utility segment, which primarily consists of Washington Gas, a natural gas utility that serves over one million customers throughout metropolitan Washington, D.C., and the surrounding region; (ii) the retail energy-marketing segment which consists of Washington Gas Energy Services, Inc., a third-party marketer that competitively sells natural gas and electricity; (iii) the commercial energy systems segment, which consists of Washington Gas Energy Systems, Inc., a provider of energy efficiency solutions to government and commercial clients and (iv) the wholesale energy solutions segment, which consists of Capitol Energy Ventures Corporation, a non-utility asset optimization business.

Additional information about WGL Holdings, Inc. is available on its website, wglholdings.com. Go to washingtongas.com for more information about Washington Gas Light Company.

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