Guides

Help paying your electric bill: LIHEAP, utility programs and payment plans

By Kyle Tice · Updated October 2026

If you are behind on your electric bill, the order of operations is: call the utility before the shutoff notice arrives, ask for every program by name, and file for LIHEAP the week your state opens applications. About one in six U.S. households is behind on utility bills, owing roughly $25 billion, so none of this is unusual and the programs exist because of it.

LIHEAP: the federal program

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program pays part of your heating or cooling bill, usually as a one-time credit sent to the utility, plus crisis grants to stop a shutoff.

2026 funding status. Congress funded LIHEAP at about $4.04 billion for fiscal 2026. HHS released 90% on November 28, 2025 (delayed by the fall 2025 shutdown) and the final $421 million on April 20, 2026. The administration’s FY2027 budget again proposed eliminating the program; as of early October 2026 Congress has not passed a full-year appropriation, so states are starting the 2026-27 season on whatever they carried over plus continuing-resolution funds. Apply early; states that run out stop taking applications.

Income limits. Federal rules let states serve households up to 150% of the poverty guideline or 60% of state median income, whichever is higher. Using the 2026 poverty guidelines, 150% is $23,940 for one person and $49,500 for a family of four in the 48 states. States with higher median incomes go higher. If you receive SNAP, SSI or TANF you are usually automatically eligible.

How to apply:

1. Find your state or tribal office through the LIHEAP Clearinghouse or by calling 1-866-674-6327. You never apply to HHS directly.
2. Gather a recent bill, ID for everyone in the household, and proof of income for the last 30 days or last year.
3. Apply online where offered; otherwise through the local community action agency.
4. If you have a shutoff notice, say so. Crisis assistance is faster and separate from the regular benefit.
5. Renters who pay heat as part of rent can qualify; bring the lease.

Utility programs: ask for each by name

Every regulated utility has some version of these. Examples now in effect:

• Discount rates. ComEd’s low-income discount, launched February 2026, takes 5% to 80% off the bill for households up to 300% of poverty. Con Edison’s Energy Affordability Program credits up to $187 per bill. California’s CARE discount is 30% to 35%.
• Arrearage management. Forgives a slice of old debt each month you pay the current bill on time, usually one-twelfth per month, so the balance is gone after a year. SCE, PG&E, Eversource and most Northeast utilities run one.
• Hardship grants. ComEd’s Residential Special Hardship grant is up to $500; Duke Energy’s Share the Light Fund is up to $300 a year; PG&E’s REACH program opened in January 2026 to anyone with a disconnection notice.
• Payment plans. Utilities in nearly every state must offer a deferred payment arrangement before disconnecting. Ask for the longest term; 12 months is common, and some commissions require up to 24.
• Budget billing. Averages the year into 12 equal payments. It does not lower the bill, but it removes the January spike. Free, and you can leave at any time.

Medical baseline and medical certification

If someone in the home depends on powered medical equipment or has a condition made worse by heat or cold, you can get two things: extra energy at the lowest price and stronger protection from shutoff. PG&E’s Medical Baseline adds about 500 kWh a month at the lowest tier; SCE and SDG&E have the same program. Elsewhere, a doctor’s certification generally blocks disconnection for 30 days and can be renewed. Ask the utility for the medical form; it is one page.

Shutoff moratoria by season

Rules are set by state commissions, change yearly, and often require you to be enrolled in LIHEAP or to have applied. Current examples:

Winter

• Pennsylvania: December 1 to March 31, low-income customers, PUC permission required to disconnect.
• Indiana: December 1 to March 15 for LIHEAP recipients.
• New Jersey: Winter Termination Program, November 15 to March 15.
• Iowa: November 1 to April 1 for LIHEAP-eligible households.
• Massachusetts: the DPU sets dates each year; last season’s protection ran into April.
• New York, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut all have date-based or temperature-based winter rules.

Summer

• Arizona: no residential disconnections June 1 to October 15 for Corporation Commission-regulated utilities.
• Texas: no disconnection in a county under a National Weather Service heat advisory or for two days after.
• New Jersey: June 15 to August 31 for eligible households.
• California: no shutoffs during extreme heat events under 2026 CPUC rules.

The LIHEAP Clearinghouse keeps the full state table. A moratorium stops the shutoff, not the bill; the balance still accrues, which is why pairing it with a payment plan matters.

Weatherization: fix the bill permanently

The DOE Weatherization Assistance Program pays for insulation, air sealing and sometimes heating system replacement at no cost for households at or below 200% of poverty (about $66,000 for a family of four in 2026). Apply through the local weatherization agency, not DOE. Waiting lists are long, so apply the same day you apply for LIHEAP; many agencies share one form.

211

Dial 211 or visit 211.org for local charities, church funds and county emergency assistance that are not on any utility website. It is free and answers around the clock.

What this site can do

Find your utility from the state list. Each page lists the pending rate cases that explain why the bill rose, the rebates we have found, and a link to the utility’s assistance page. The estimator shows what a cheaper rate plan or a lower usage would do to your bill before you call.