(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

“We love giving back to the community, we love making the community a better place where we work, live and play every single day.”

That statement from Kim Campbell of Vistra Energy mirrored what was written on the big check–a check for $20,000 from Dynegy (a Vistra subsidiary) to Dollar Energy Fund that was presented at the Housing Opportunities of Beaver County headquarters in Beaver on Wednesday. The $20,000 comes in the form of a grant that will help assist the Hardship Program that Dollar Energy Fund has established in Beaver County.

For many, this grant comes at the perfect time–albeit with cooperation from a less-than-ideal reason for it. The Public Utility Commission recently announced more rate increases for energy, which could lead to higher bills for Pennsylvania residents. “We know our low-income customers are struggling,” Campbell stated. “Rent has gone up, gas has gone up, and utilities have gone up, as well as food and everything else they need…so anything we can do to help our customers really meet those needs and ensure they don’t have to worry about their electricity, we’re here to do that.”

The event was attended by several local lawmakers, including State Senator Elder Vogel along with State Representatives Jim Marshall and Josh Kail. All three applauded this grant and agreed that it is imperative that the citizens of Pennsylvania receive some help.

“There’s no better time for a contribution like this than now,” Kail said. “We really appreciate what this means, and it’s true–my wife was just complaining to me about it a week ago that our electric bill went up–thankfully we have the means to pay for bills like that, but there’s a lot of people who are struggling.”

State Representative Rob Matzie was scheduled to attend, but couldn’t due to other business.