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

The short answer: where to ask, in this order

1. Your state's LIHEAP office. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is federally funded and run by each state, usually through local community action agencies. The federal Office of Community Services keeps the program page and state contacts.
2. Your utility. Ask about payment arrangements, budget billing, low-income discount rates and hardship funds. These are separate from LIHEAP and you can use both.
3. Weatherization. The Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program pays for insulation, sealing and equipment work that lowers future bills.
4. Your state utility commission if you face a disconnection you think is wrong. Its consumer office handles complaints about utilities it regulates.

Call before the due date if you can: a LIHEAP application takes time to process, and the utility needs to know an application is coming.

LIHEAP: who qualifies and what it covers

Federal law sets an upper limit and lets each state set its own within it. Under 42 U.S.C. § 8624, a state may serve households with incomes up to the greater of one and a half times the poverty level or 60 percent of the state median income, and may set a lower cutoff within limits. The same section lets a state treat a household as eligible when someone in it receives SNAP, SSI, TANF or certain veterans' benefits, and lets it use up to 15 percent of its money for weatherization. States also keep part of the money for energy crises, such as a shut-off notice or an empty fuel tank.

"Home energy" in the law means heating or cooling. That matters for electric bills: in 2025, 41.8%¹ of US households heated mainly with electricity, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, and air conditioning runs on electricity everywhere. For those homes a LIHEAP payment can go to the electric utility as a credit on the account.

The total for fiscal 2026 was $4.07 billion allocated to the states and DC by the Department of Health and Human Services. The first release for fiscal 2027, made on October 9, 2026 under a continuing resolution, was $3.57 billion². That is an installment, not the year's final amount: the fiscal 2026 total also arrived in several releases between November 2025 and April 2026.

How much LIHEAP money reaches your state

The split among states is set by the allotment formula in 42 U.S.C. § 8623, which is based on home energy spending, with a floor tied to what each state received in fiscal 1984. Dividing each state's fiscal 2026 allocation by its occupied homes shows how uneven the result is. The figure is an indicator of funding, not a benefit amount.

Vermont$80.93

Maine$68.78

North Dakota$67.03

Connecticut$61.93

Rhode Island$59.48

New Hampshire$58.09

Massachusetts$57.74

South Dakota$54.90

Minnesota$52.41

New York$51.00

Montana$49.00

West Virginia$47.03

Michigan$44.16

Wisconsin$43.94

Alaska$43.59

Iowa$43.38

Nebraska$43.25

Wyoming$43.09

Pennsylvania$43.01

Illinois$38.92

District of Columbia$37.98

New Jersey$37.77

Ohio$36.56

Missouri$35.49

Maryland$34.89

Delaware$33.06

Kansas$32.05

Indiana$30.93

Louisiana$30.69

Mississippi$30.67

Idaho$30.30

Kentucky$29.96

Virginia$29.86

Alabama$28.33

Arkansas$27.48

Oklahoma$25.35

Utah$23.69

Tennessee$23.64

New Mexico$23.27

Oregon$23.19

North Carolina$23.15

Georgia$22.52

Colorado$22.35

South Carolina$21.50

Washington$19.35

Texas$17.43

California$17.42

Hawaii$17.16

Nevada$14.01

Florida$13.04

Arizona$11.67

Source: HHS, LIHEAP funding releases to states. FY2026 allocation divided by occupied housing units (ACS 2025); an indicator, not a benefit amount.

Show the numbers

State	LIHEAP FY2026 allocation per occupied household
Vermont	$80.93
Maine	$68.78
North Dakota	$67.03
Connecticut	$61.93
Rhode Island	$59.48
New Hampshire	$58.09
Massachusetts	$57.74
South Dakota	$54.90
Minnesota	$52.41
New York	$51.00
Montana	$49.00
West Virginia	$47.03
Michigan	$44.16
Wisconsin	$43.94
Alaska	$43.59
Iowa	$43.38
Nebraska	$43.25
Wyoming	$43.09
Pennsylvania	$43.01
Illinois	$38.92
District of Columbia	$37.98
New Jersey	$37.77
Ohio	$36.56
Missouri	$35.49
Maryland	$34.89
Delaware	$33.06
Kansas	$32.05
Indiana	$30.93
Louisiana	$30.69
Mississippi	$30.67
Idaho	$30.30
Kentucky	$29.96
Virginia	$29.86
Alabama	$28.33
Arkansas	$27.48
Oklahoma	$25.35
Utah	$23.69
Tennessee	$23.64
New Mexico	$23.27
Oregon	$23.19
North Carolina	$23.15
Georgia	$22.52
Colorado	$22.35
South Carolina	$21.50
Washington	$19.35
Texas	$17.43
California	$17.42
Hawaii	$17.16
Nevada	$14.01
Florida	$13.04
Arizona	$11.67

Vermont received $80.93 per occupied home and Maine $68.78. At the other end, Arizona received $11.67 and Florida $13.04; the median state got $33.06. A large total does not mean a large share per home: Texas received $202.3 million for fiscal 2026, which is $17.43² per occupied home.

A smaller allocation per home leaves less to spread across eligible households: a state can only respond with smaller benefits, a shorter application window or fewer households served. Apply as soon as your state's season opens, and ask the local agency whether a separate cooling or crisis program exists.

The mismatch: summer bills in the South, aid money in the North

The states with the most LIHEAP money per home are mostly cold Northern states where few households heat with electricity. Only 11.0% of Vermont households and 13.4%¹ of Maine households heat mainly with electricity (ACS 2025). The highest electric bills are elsewhere. In August 2026, the latest month of EIA data (preliminary), the average residential bill was $269.26 in Arizona, $265.58 in Texas and $253.96 in Alabama, against $142.06 in Vermont. The US average that month was $209.23³.

Source: EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state; HHS, LIHEAP funding releases to states. Each dot is a state (horizontal: Average residential bill, 2026-08 (computed); vertical: LIHEAP FY2026 allocation per occupied household). Residential revenue in the month divided by customers. Period: August 2026. FY2026 allocation divided by occupied housing units (ACS 2025); an indicator, not a benefit amount.

Show the numbers

State	Average residential bill, 2026-08 (computed)	LIHEAP FY2026 allocation per occupied household
Wyoming	$118.52	$43.09
Washington	$119.88	$19.35
Montana	$122.11	$49.00
North Dakota	$130.29	$67.03
Oregon	$134.77	$23.19
Idaho	$137.11	$30.30
Alaska	$139.22	$43.59
Vermont	$142.06	$80.93
Minnesota	$145.27	$52.41
Wisconsin	$147.68	$43.94
Iowa	$148.72	$43.38
Nebraska	$154.91	$43.25
Maine	$157.13	$68.78
South Dakota	$160.09	$54.90
New Mexico	$162.31	$23.27
Utah	$163.76	$23.69
Colorado	$167.04	$22.35
Illinois	$171.18	$38.92
Michigan	$172.39	$44.16
West Virginia	$174.42	$47.03
Rhode Island	$176.03	$59.48
Kentucky	$188.17	$29.96
Indiana	$188.99	$30.93
North Carolina	$195.84	$23.15
Pennsylvania	$198.28	$43.01
Ohio	$199.46	$36.56
New Hampshire	$201.82	$58.09
Kansas	$203.63	$32.05
Connecticut	$204.35	$61.93
District of Columbia	$205.51	$37.98
Tennessee	$205.56	$23.64
Nevada	$207.45	$14.01
Delaware	$209.57	$33.06
New York	$212.44	$51.00
Missouri	$215.88	$35.49
Arkansas	$217.04	$27.48
Florida	$217.28	$13.04
Virginia	$219.74	$29.86
South Carolina	$226.29	$21.50
Louisiana	$226.86	$30.69
Maryland	$233.47	$34.89
Georgia	$233.87	$22.52
California	$234.85	$17.42
Massachusetts	$235.80	$57.74
New Jersey	$236.26	$37.77
Mississippi	$238.78	$30.67
Oklahoma	$251.28	$25.35
Alabama	$253.96	$28.33
Texas	$265.58	$17.43
Hawaii	$269.05	$17.16
Arizona	$269.26	$11.67

The table adds the annual figures for the same states. EIA's average bill is what residential customers paid on average across 2025; the Census figures come from households reporting their own last monthly bill, which are estimates with margins of error.

Alabama shows the gap most clearly. Its homes paid an average of $184.31⁴ a month in 2025, and 40.9% of its households reported a bill of $250 or more in the Census survey, the highest⁵ share among the states. Its LIHEAP allocation came to $28.33² per occupied home. In states like this, the utility's own programs carry more of the load.

What your utility can do

Utilities are not required to offer the same things everywhere; many offer some of these, under different names:

• Payment arrangement. The past-due amount is spread over several months on top of current bills.
• Budget billing. The bill is averaged over the year so a summer or winter peak does not land in one month. Nationally, use per home in the 12 months to August 2026 ran from 678 kWh in April 2026 to 1,160 kWh in July 2026³; budget billing evens that out. It does not lower the total, and a true-up can follow.
• Low-income discount rate. Some state commissions require one. California's CARE program, set by the California Public Utilities Commission, is one example: a percentage off the electric bill for income-qualified customers, with a smaller discount (FERA) for households just above the limit.
• Arrearage management. Some utilities offer to forgive part of an old balance for each on-time payment of the current bill.
• Hardship or fuel funds. Some utilities and charities run one-time grant programs, often through the same local agencies that take LIHEAP applications.

Ask what applies to your account by phone or through the utility's assistance page.

Before a shut-off

Falling behind is common. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's 2026 review of retail prices reports that utility arrearages, the money customers owed past due, reached $21 billion in May 2025, and that the electricity burden (bills as a share of income) worsened between 2019 and 2025 in 27 states + DC⁶. The same review found disconnection rates in a sample of utilities rose after the pandemic protections ended but stayed below their 2019 level through 2025.

Each state sets its own disconnection rules. Protections can include notice periods, limits on shut-offs in extreme heat or cold, and medical certificates for a household member who depends on electricity. If you receive a notice:

1. Call the utility before the date on the notice and ask for a payment arrangement.
2. Tell the utility if you have applied for LIHEAP or another program, and ask whether it can hold the account while the application is processed.
3. Ask your LIHEAP office about crisis assistance, the part of the program kept for emergencies such as a shut-off notice.
4. If the utility will not work with you, contact your state utility commission's consumer office. Municipal utilities and electric cooperatives are often outside the commission's reach; their own board sets the rules.

Lower the bill that comes next

Help with one bill does not change the next one. Two numbers decide it: the kWh you use and the price per kWh. The US average residential price was 18.04¢ per kWh over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026), 6.5%³ above the 12 months before, so the same use costs more than it did.

Weatherization addresses use. Households with incomes up to twice the federal poverty guidelines, or that receive SSI, qualify under the Department of Energy's rules, and states may also use the LIHEAP income limit. You apply through your state weatherization agency or a local provider, which checks income and puts eligible homes on a waiting list. Weatherization work focuses on heating, cooling and water heating: in EIA's 2020 household survey (RECS 2020), air conditioning took 19% of household electricity, space heating 12% and water heating 12%⁷. The guide to what uses the most electricity in a home breaks the rest down.

To check whether a high bill came from use or from price, see why is my electric bill so high, and compare your bill with your state's average.