Help Paying Your Electric or Gas Bill This Winter: Where to Start

1Where can you get help paying your electric or gas bill?

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) can help you pay your heating or cooling bills or get emergency services during an energy crisis, and depending on where you live, you may also qualify for help with electric bills. Eligibility is based on your income, and every state and territory has its own requirements. (USA.gov, Get help with energy bills)

1. Find your state or territory's LIHEAP office through USA.gov, Get help with energy bills, or call the National Energy Assistance Referral line at 1-866-674-6327, weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. (USA.gov) (ACF, LIHEAP)
2. Apply. Some offices take applications online, and others require you to apply in person. (USA.gov, Get help with energy bills)

State guides with the local offices and income limits: Massachusetts Fuel Assistance, Minnesota Energy Assistance Program, and Indiana Energy Assistance Program.

The federal LIHEAP office warns that LIHEAP does not provide direct grants to individuals and does not charge a fee for receiving a benefit. If someone offers you a LIHEAP grant or asks for a fee, call the HHS Fraud Hotline at 1-800-447-8477. (ACF, LIHEAP)

You submit your application yourself on the official site. Benefit Bull is free and never files for you.

2What can LIHEAP pay for besides the monthly bill?

Depending on your state, LIHEAP may help with more than the bill itself. The federal LIHEAP office says LIHEAP funds can help households stay safe and warm in the winter with home heating bills, preventing energy shutoffs, reconnecting services, making homes more energy efficient, and repairing or replacing heating equipment. (ACF, LIHEAP)

Each state decides which of these it offers and how. Ask your local office which parts its program covers this season.

3What if you have a shutoff notice or no heat right now?

Every state reserves part of its LIHEAP money until March 15 of each program year for energy crisis intervention. The crisis program must provide some form of assistance that will resolve the energy crisis within 48 hours after an eligible household applies, or within 18 hours if the household is eligible and in a life-threatening situation. Crisis applications must be taken at sites that are geographically accessible. (42 U.S.C. 8623(c)) That is a rule about timing, not a promise of a payment: the office still decides whether your household is eligible and what form the help takes.

What to do today, in order:

1. Call your local LIHEAP or energy assistance office and say "shutoff notice" or "no heat" at the start of the call, so it is handled as a crisis.
2. Call your utility the same day. Tell them you are applying for energy assistance and ask what protections and payment plans apply to you.
3. Keep the notice. Have it and your most recent bill in front of you, since the office may ask for them.
4. Check your state's winter rule in section 4 below, and tell the utility if you think it covers you.

You submit your application yourself on the official site. Benefit Bull is free and never files for you.

4Can the utility shut off your heat in winter?

It depends on your state. Each state sets its own winter shutoff rules. (USA.gov, Get help with energy bills) Winter rules protect against a shutoff, but they do not erase the bill. (Indiana OUCC, Winter Disconnection Moratorium FAQ) (Kentucky PSC, Utility Service Roadmap) (807 KAR 5:006) (PUC Texas, 16 TAC 25.483) They also usually do not cover oil, propane, or wood deliveries.

Massachusetts

If you have a financial hardship, your electric or gas company cannot shut off service without permission from the Department of Public Utilities when it is between November 15 and March 15 and the service is needed to heat your home. The same hardship protection applies year round if someone in your home is seriously ill, you have an infant under 12 months, or all adults in the home are 65 or older and a minor child lives there. If everyone in your home is 65 or older, your electric or gas cannot be shut off without DPU permission. The utility will ask for proof, such as income-based proof that you cannot pay. If service is not restored after you talk to the utility, call the DPU at 617-737-2836 or 1-877-886-5066. Check with the DPU for your situation. (Mass.gov, When am I protected from having my utilities shut off?)

Minnesota

Minnesota's Cold Weather Rule protects residential electric and natural gas service from shutoff between October 1 and April 30, if you make and keep a payment plan you and your utility agree on. Renters are covered when the electricity or gas is the primary heat source and the account is in your name. All natural gas and electric utilities must offer it, but it does not apply to oil, propane, or wood. (Minnesota PUC, Shut-Off Protection) More on how it works with energy assistance is in our Minnesota Energy Assistance Program guide. Check with the Public Utilities Commission at 651-296-0406 or 1-800-657-3782.

Indiana

From December 1 through March 15, Indiana electric and natural gas utilities may not disconnect a customer who is receiving help from the Energy Assistance Program, or who qualified for EAP, formally applied at the local intake office, and gave the utility written proof. It covers investor-owned and municipal utilities and rural electric membership cooperatives, but not bulk fuels such as propane. You are still responsible for your bills. (Indiana OUCC, Winter Disconnection Moratorium FAQ) If you are scheduled for disconnection, tell your utility you applied for EAP and give it written proof. (IURC, Customer Assistance) (Indiana OUCC, Winter Disconnection Moratorium FAQ) With a medical statement from a licensed doctor or public health official, the utility must postpone a disconnection for 10 days. (Indiana OUCC, Winter Disconnection Moratorium FAQ) See our Indiana Energy Assistance Program guide, and check with the IURC at 1-800-851-4268.

Kentucky

Kentucky does not have a date-based winter shutoff ban. A gas or electric utility must give 10 days written notice before disconnecting for nonpayment. If you have a life-threatening illness in your household, service continues for 30 days when you present a signed statement from your doctor, registered nurse, or public health official saying the loss of service will aggravate the illness. (Kentucky PSC, Utility Service Roadmap) If your disconnection notice is issued between November 1 and March 31, a gas or electric utility also may not shut off service for 30 days if you present, during the 10-day notice period, a Certificate of Need from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (or its designee) showing eligibility for its energy assistance program, make a payment you are able to make, and agree to a repayment plan. (807 KAR 5:006) You still pay for service used during the extension. Check with the Public Service Commission at 502-564-3940 or 1-800-772-4636.

Texas

A retail electric provider may not authorize a disconnection for nonpayment in a county where an extreme weather emergency occurs. For cold weather, that is a day when the previous day's high did not exceed 32 degrees Fahrenheit and the temperature is predicted to stay at or below that level for the next 24 hours anywhere in the county, according to the nearest National Weather Service reports. On request, the provider must offer a deferred payment plan for bills that come due during the emergency. (PUC Texas, 16 TAC 25.483) If someone at home would become seriously ill or more seriously ill from a disconnection, a Critical Care Residential Customer designation can block a disconnection for up to 63 days from the bill, with a physician's confirmation and a deferred payment plan. (PUC Texas, 16 TAC 25.483) (PUC Texas, Received a Disconnection Notice) This rule covers retail electric providers; if your power comes from a city utility or co-op, ask it about its own rules. Check with the PUC at 512-936-7000 or 1-888-782-8477. (PUC Texas, consumer protection news release)

5What if you heat with oil, propane, or wood?

State shutoff rules generally do not reach delivered fuel. Massachusetts says there are no specific legal protections for customers who heat with oil, propane, or wood, though providers are often willing to work with customers. (Mass.gov, When am I protected from having my utilities shut off?) Minnesota's Cold Weather Rule does not cover oil, propane, or wood, but propane dealers must offer a budget billing plan, and if your furnace runs on electricity you should apply for Cold Weather Rule protection with your electric company. (Minnesota PUC, Shut-Off Protection) Indiana's moratorium does not apply to bulk fuels such as propane. (Indiana OUCC, Winter Disconnection Moratorium FAQ)

LIHEAP can still help with home heating costs, depending on your state. (ACF, LIHEAP) How your state pays for oil is covered in our Massachusetts Fuel Assistance guide.

6Will a payment plan or your utility help?

Often, yes. Call the utility before the due date and ask about payment plans and hardship options. In several states the protection itself depends on a plan: Minnesota's Cold Weather Rule requires one, Kentucky's Certificate of Need extension requires a repayment plan, and Texas providers must offer a deferred payment plan for bills due during an extreme weather emergency. (Minnesota PUC, Shut-Off Protection) (807 KAR 5:006) (PUC Texas, 16 TAC 25.483) Indiana's consumer counselor says customers who make payment arrangements and keep them have dramatically lower odds of being disconnected in the spring. (Indiana OUCC, Winter Disconnection Moratorium FAQ)

For ways to cut the bill itself, see 7 Ways to Lower Your Utility Bills.

7How do you lower next winter's bill?

For home improvements that save money on energy, you may qualify for help through the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). Eligibility depends on your income, or you may qualify if you already receive benefits such as TANF or SSI. Contact your state's WAP office to see if you may be eligible and how to apply. (USA.gov, Get help with energy bills)

You submit your application yourself on the official site. Benefit Bull is free and never files for you.