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Indiana program

Help with the heating and cooling bill (Energy Assistance Program)

Indiana's seasonal energy program helps eligible households pay heating and cooling costs.

What it is

Indiana's seasonal energy program helps eligible households pay heating and cooling costs.

A local community action agency reviews energy help and usually pays the utility. The next season's dates and limits need agency confirmation. Winter shutoff protection has separate eligibility and proof requirements.

Eligibility rules
  • Indiana's published PY2026 screen used 60% of state median income and the most recent three months of household income.
  • Last season's line was $4,517 a month for three people and $5,377 for four; the new season's table is close to that and the agency has it.
  • The local agency confirms the PY2027 table, effective dates and award calculation. A comparison with the old table cannot decide a new application.
What you get
  • A payment toward the energy bill when the open program's rules are met.
  • Winter gas and electric shutoff protection for qualifying households with the required assistance or application proof.
What the help includes
  • Approved assistance is usually paid to the energy vendor. The local agency explains the award calculation and any utility-specific hardship fund or payment arrangement.
  • Winter gas/electric protection runs December 1 through March 15 for assistance recipients, or households that qualify and formally apply with written proof supplied to the utility. An application alone is not enough.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask your local community action agency about the application season and forms.
  2. Have the latest three months of income and utility account information ready.
  3. Ask how to give the utility proof of an energy-assistance application.

Local community action agency; Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority energy-assistance page · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • The last application season closed April 20, 2026 at 5 p.m. Eastern. New applications, summer applications and second crisis requests cannot use that closed season; timely pending applications may still be processed.
  • Applications reopen in the autumn and close in April; the county agency has the dates.
Good to know

Winter protection delays disconnection. It does not erase the unpaid balance.

Other details
  • The winter moratorium reaches municipal and cooperative electric and gas utilities as well as regulated utilities.
  • The next season's award amount and timing need agency confirmation. A winter hold delays disconnection but does not cancel the balance.

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

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could energy assistance help with our utility bill? What limits or timing issues should we expect, and could you help with an application when the program is open?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand both help with the balance and any protection against a winter shutoff.

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

Winter gas/electric protection runs December 1 through March 15 for assistance recipients, or households that qualify and formally apply with written proof supplied to the utility. An application alone is not enough.

Your social worker

The agency decides and pays the utility directly.

The care team

Nothing.

Who decides
The local community action agency.
Ask your social worker
“Can you tell me when Indiana energy assistance reopens, and help me apply in the first week so the winter shutoff protection covers us?”

How to apply

First step: The local agency can confirm the next season and other help between seasons.

  1. The local agency confirms the next opening date, eligibility table and application process.
  2. Winter gas/electric protection runs December 1 through March 15 for assistance recipients, or households that qualify and formally apply with written proof supplied to the utility. An application alone is not enough.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Applications closed April 20, 2026 and the page says they reopen in the autumn of 2026. Check the state page for the opening date.

What to gather

  • The last three months of income
  • The most recent utility bills
  • Identity documents for the household

How long: Not published for the coming season.

What a yes looks like

A credit on the utility account, and written proof you can give the utility for the winter protection.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If income is the reason, check whether the three months used were the right ones.

Watch out

  • The season closed on April 20, 2026 and reopens in the autumn without a published date.
  • The line is 60 per cent of state median income, not a poverty-line percentage, so it is higher than it looks.

Dates that change this

2026-04-20: Applications closed on April 20, 2026 at 5 p.m. Eastern, including crisis and summer help. The page says the programme reopens in the autumn of 2026; the date and the next income table were NOT FOUND.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

The local agency confirms the next application season and income limits; the previous season is closed.

  • $5,377/month — Closed PY2026 income ceiling, household of 4; not a PY2027 limit
  • $3,656/month — Closed PY2026 income ceiling, household of 2; not a PY2027 limit

Covers: A payment toward the heating and cooling bill · Crisis help within the programme year

Legal protection: Electric and gas utilities cannot disconnect a qualifying household between December 1 and March 15, including municipal and cooperative utilities

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Income
Indiana's published PY2026 screen used 60% of state median income and the most recent three months of household income. The local agency confirms the PY2027 table, effective dates and award calculation. A comparison with the old table cannot decide a new application.
Residency
Indiana

The trap: The programme year closed on April 20, 2026 and the page says it reopens in the autumn of 2026 without naming a date. The old income table is not an open application season.

Where I read this

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