Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Florida program

Help paying the energy bill (LIHEAP)

LIHEAP helps eligible households pay an energy bill through a local agency.

What it is

LIHEAP helps eligible households pay an energy bill through a local agency.

A local LIHEAP agency can pay toward an energy bill. The agency confirms which regular or crisis assistance is open. Income, available funds and local intake determine what help is possible.

Eligibility rules
  • The 2026 line is 60% of Florida's median income. Yearly limits: $32,155 for one person, $42,049 for two, $51,943 for three, $61,837 for four, $71,730 for five and $81,624 for six.
  • For a family of four that works out to about $5,150 a month. The table changes each October.
What you get
  • A payment toward the energy bill.
  • Crisis assistance for a threatened shutoff when the program’s conditions are met.
What the help covers
  • The local LIHEAP agency confirms which regular or crisis assistance is open, intake dates and available funding. A shutoff notice can support crisis review. Passing the income screen does not reserve assistance or stop a shutoff.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask your county’s LIHEAP agency about its intake and bring the bill and any shutoff notice.
  2. Have ready household income records and a clinic letter explaining any medical risk from losing power.

Your local LIHEAP agency; the social worker can help identify it

What happens next
  • The local agency decides the request. A medical-risk letter can support a crisis review and the utility’s separate medical registry.
Good to know

The statewide income table does not guarantee an open local application or a particular payment.

Other details
  • Energy assistance and medically essential electric-service registration are separate programs. A registry does not pay the bill.

Federal background: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Would energy assistance help with our bill, and could medical needs affect a crisis request? Could you help us find the local agency and gather the records?”

Why I’m asking: I want to know what help could keep the power bill manageable during treatment.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Bring the bill and notice to the local agency.

Your social worker

The social worker documents the medical risk of a shutoff.

The care team

Writes the medical-risk letter.

Who decides
The local energy-help (LIHEAP) agency, under FloridaCommerce.
Ask your social worker
“Can the team write a letter that losing power would endanger our child, for the energy-assistance crisis request and the utility's medical certificate?”

How to apply

First step: Find the energy-help (LIHEAP) agency for your county on FloridaCommerce's provider list. Ask whether crisis intake is open. Bring the power bill and any disconnect notice.

  1. Find the local agency and ask whether crisis intake is open.
  2. Bring the bill and any disconnect notice.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: The local agency for your county (FloridaCommerce LIHEAP provider list)

What to gather

  • Utility bill and account number
  • Disconnect notice
  • Income proof
  • Doctor's letter on medical risk

How long: Crisis requests are handled first; regular help is seasonal.

What a yes looks like

A payment posted to the utility account.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask whether intake is closed, the money is gone, or income was over 60% of the state's median income, and when it reopens.

Watch out

  • The limit is yearly income at 60% of the state's median income ($61,837 for four), not a poverty percentage. The table changes every October 1.
  • The local LIHEAP agency confirms intake dates and whether regular or crisis assistance is open. A shutoff notice does not reserve funding or stop disconnection.
  • Medical need matters: a doctor's letter that losing electricity would endanger your child moves a crisis request up. The same letter supports the power company's medically essential service certificate.

Dates that change this

2025-10-01: The federal-year 2026 income table took effect October 1, 2025 (60% of state median income); next yearly review October 1, 2026.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 9, 2026.

What it is worth

Energy-bill assistance uses the FFY 2026 income ceiling of 60% of Florida median income: $61,837 yearly for four. Local intake and funding determine which assistance is open.

  • $61,837/year — Income ceiling, 4 people, FFY2026 (60% of state median income)
  • $5,153/month — Income ceiling, 4 people, monthly equivalent (yearly figure divided by 12; about 187% of the 2026 poverty line)

Covers: Bill payment to the utility · Crisis assistance with a shutoff notice

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Income
60% of Florida state median income; FFY2026 annual ceilings $32,155 / $42,049 / $51,943 / $61,837 / $71,730 / $81,624 for one to six
Effective
2025-10-01; next annual review 2026-10-01
Seasons
The local LIHEAP agency confirms current intake dates, which regular or crisis assistance is open and available funding.

Decisions this site cannot make: Local agency eligibility

Expect friction on: Seasonal application dates · Funds run out

The trap: The income limit is a yearly figure at 60% of the state's median income, not a poverty percentage: for four it works out to about 187% of the poverty line. Ask the local agency which figure it is using and whether crisis intake is open.

Where I read this

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