Families with incomes too high to qualify for heating-assistance programs can get help from a new $2.1 million fund from Columbia Gas of Ohio.

The new fund was created with money that regulators have ordered Columbia to repay to customers, stemming from an overcharge involving two sister companies.

To be eligible for aid from this new fund, a family's income must be between 175 percent and 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines. Families that earn less than 175 percent of the poverty level already are eligible for existing assistance programs.

The fund will be administered by the same local agencies that handle the federal Home Energy Assistance Program, or HEAP. People who want information about HEAP can call the state's Office of Community Services at 1-800-282-0880 or Columbia Gas of Ohio at 1-800-344-4077.

For a family of four, 200 percent of the poverty level is $42,400, Columbia said. For a family of three, it is $35,200; for a family of two, it is $28,000; and for a single person, it is $20,800.

The average benefit for customers under existing programs is $326 per household, the state has said.

"We understand that current economic conditions, with job cuts being announced almost daily, are making it tough on people, even those who don't qualify for traditional energy assistance programs," Jack Partridge, Columbia Gas of Ohio president, said in a statement.

The new fund stems from a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruling on Nov. 6 saying that two pipeline companies, Columbia Gulf Transmission Corp. and Columbia Gas Transmission Co., had overcharged customers a total of $9 million and would need to issue a refund. Columbia Gas of Ohio customers' share of the refund was $2.1 million.

Typically, the refund would be passed on to all customers in the form of a temporary rate adjustment, said Marty Berkowitz, a spokesman for the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel. In this case, the refund would have been about 19 cents per customer.

Columbia Gas of Ohio suggested, and the Consumers' Counsel agreed, that the money would be better spent on heating assistance for needy customers.

"We negotiated a waiver so that money would be targeted to people for heating assistance," Berkowitz said.

dgearino@dispatch.com