The Texas Utility Help program is dedicated to helping families that fall under the poverty line with their utility payments using funds from the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and Low Income Household Water Assistance Program. The government’s implementation of the Texas Utility Help Program will reduce poverty and help combat the issues that poor families face regarding electricity, heat, and water so they are not left to deal with polarizing temperatures, shortages, and food insecurity as a result of expending disposable income on utility payments

A study by Wodon, Qurntin, and Ajwad focuses on electricity utility subsidies in Honduras that utilizes the “lifeline principle” which targets households that consume lower energy levels as they are the most likely to be in poverty

Angel-Urdinola and Wodon’s study focus on three African countries, Cape Verde, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe. The conclusion of the study stated that, similar to the Honduras study, some factors are overlooked when determining who is eligible for these subsidies.

A study by Frank and co-researchers discusses the issue of how only a small percentage of households facing poverty are given sufficient funds to cover utility costs through LIHEAP, as funding for the program is incredibly minimal. In another US based research, Baxter discusses how the overall structure of low income energy policies is flawed, stating that federal policy is focused on heating needs while state policy is bearing the responsibility of providing adequate utility support for needy families.

*Full citations in paper

Rawlsian Social Welfare Function equation: max{min (𝑈𝑎, 𝑈𝑏,...)}

According to the Rawlsian Social Welfare function, we hope to maximize the happiness of the least well off person in society. With the Texas Utility Help Program, benefits are means tested and are provided to families that meet a certain criteria – they must have an income of at most 150% of the Federal Poverty Income Guideline and are targeted at areas that might be at risk of being disconnected from the water supply.

The Rawlsian criteria is met by this specific policy in that the program is aimed at maximizing utility for poor families in the form of alleviating their utility payments. Under the Rawlsian Social Welfare function, the redistribution of money towards those that are the least well off in society operate under the assumptions that everyone’s utility function is the same with diminishing marginal utility of income and that there are no efficiency losses that come with the redistribution

To ensure that the Texas Utility Help Program is indeed alleviating poverty and targeting the part of the population that is most in need, a difference in difference model would be the best approach of analysis. Since its introduction in July of 2022, the program has been accepting applications until funds have been depleted. The model would examine the difference in personal spending on utility payments within families under the poverty line from before the introduction of the program (2019) to after (2022).