With current economic challenges and predictions of a La Niña bringing a cold and wet winter, The Salvation Army Warm Home Fund has set a goal to collect $620,000 for the 2010-11 heating season to assist more than 4,000 households with their Puget Sound Energy (PSE) bill payments.

PSE customers and employees supported their neighbors in need this past year with more than $610,000 in voluntary contributions to the fund, which helped more than 3,900 families stay warm in the utility’s 11-county electric and natural gas service area.

“We have extremely generous customers and employees who dig deep to help their neighbors with heating bills through The Salvation Army Warm Home Fund,” said Suzanne Hanson, PSE supervisor of energy assistance programs. “With current economic challenges and predictions of a La Niña winter, the Warm Home Fund needs continued community support to keep families in need warm.”

Contributions to the fund from PSE customers and employees, as well as a $50,000 donation from the utility’s investors, increased by 5 percent for the 2009-10 funding year, which ends today, Sept. 30. No ratepayer dollars fund PSE’s donations to the Warm Home Fund.

Since its inception in 1982, The Salvation Army Warm Home Fund has helped more than 112,000 families.

To donate to the Warm Home Fund, PSE customers can include donations in utility bill payments and write the amount on the bill payment stub or online via the line labeled “The Salvation Army Warm Home Fund.” All donations to the program are tax deductible.

In addition to the Warm Home Fund, PSE encourages customers to call the utility at 1-888-225-5773 to work out bill-payment arrangements and to obtain other energy assistance available to qualified low-income recipients through the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, and PSE’s Home Energy Lifeline Program, or HELP.