Los Alamos County penny drive raises $240 for utility aid program

Los Alamos County’s utility assistance fund helped 86 customers in fiscal year 2025 and paid out $26,529, underscoring how quickly a household bill can become a hardship as county utility costs rose about 14% between October 2023 and October 2025. Against that backdrop, a penny drive that added $240 may seem small, but it landed directly in the Utilities Assistance Program, which helps keep water, gas, electric and sewer service within reach for qualifying residents.

The county said the March campaign began as an internal challenge among employees before opening to the public, turning coin jars, car consoles and junk drawers into donations for the program. DPU Data Analyst Amy Danforth said many people let pennies sit unused at home, and the drive gave them a way to put them to work. The county also noted that the United States stopped making pennies last fall, so the coins still in circulation are gradually disappearing.

That matters in Los Alamos because state law prevents Los Alamos County and the Department of Public Utilities from funding the UAP directly. The program depends on voluntary contributions from utility customers and community members, and assistance is limited by those donations. County rules generally cap aid at 30% of a customer’s average winter bill for water, gas, electric and sewer service, with monthly assistance set between $20 and $158 for qualified customers.

The program serves qualified low-income residential customers from October 1 through March 31, and it can also help residents age 65 and older or people who qualify for Supplemental Security Income year-round. One-time help is available for account holders facing unforeseen or unusual hardship. County records show the rules were updated in July 2023, when the minimum and maximum assistance amounts rose from $17 and $138, and the county has since processed more than $59,000 in utility-assistance payments in fiscal year 2025 when UAP, LIHEAP and LA Cares are combined.

Los Alamos County describes its Department of Public Utilities as a community-owned, not-for-profit utility, a structure that makes the penny drive more than a feel-good collection. In a county where cost-of-living pressure remains high, even a few hundred dollars in spare change can help keep the lights on and the bills manageable for neighbors who need it most.