Not later than April 1, 2010 or at a time considered possible by the department, the department shall operate an electronic payment process with participating energy providers to provide for the payment of low income customer energy bills that are subject to shutoff. The department, as it considers appropriate, shall enter into agreements with energy providers in which the energy provider agrees to permit the department to make direct payments to the energy provider on behalf of an eligible recipient. The agreement shall authorize the energy provider to provide customer information to the department. The department shall determine the eligible recipients, program requirements, benefit levels, and funding levels.