Minnesota program
Help with heat and electricity (Energy Assistance Program)
Minnesota helps eligible households pay heating and electricity costs through a local energy office.
What it is
Minnesota helps eligible households pay heating and electricity costs through a local energy office.
Energy Assistance can help a working household as well as a household with no wages. Its income line differs from food and cash assistance. The local office reviews the application and pays the utility directly.
Who can qualify
- You must live in Minnesota and meet the limit of 50% of state median income.
- For the published 2026–27 season, Commerce lists $73,969 a year for a household of four. The local office confirms the complete table, income period and season that apply to your application.
- A future season’s table does not establish September 2026 eligibility or available crisis funds. The office confirms current funding and any utility-specific help.
What you get
- Help paying heating and electricity bills.
- Crisis help when local funds and the program’s conditions allow it.
- Heating equipment repair or replacement in some cases.
What the help includes
- The payment goes toward the utility account. Crisis help and equipment help depend on their separate conditions.
If you decide to apply
- Ask your social worker to help check the local energy assistance office’s application season and crisis help.
- If you decide to pursue help, the local office confirms which income period and utility documents it needs.
The local energy assistance office for your county, listed by Minnesota Commerce. · Official page ↗
After you ask
- The local office checks income, bills and the type of help needed.
Good to know
The local office confirms which season is open and whether crisis funds are available. Medical shutoff protection is a separate option.
Other details
- A household that exceeds another program’s income limit can still meet this program’s different screen.
- The 2026–27 season takes applications until May 31, 2027. Crisis help depends on the local office having funds that month, so ask what is open now.
Federal background: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
Official sources
“Could energy assistance help with our bills, and is the application season open? What are the benefits and limits, and could you help identify our local office?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand help with keeping heat and electricity affordable.
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
Apply with recent bills and proof of income.
Your social worker
The provider pays the utility directly.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The local energy assistance provider.
- Ask the agency
- “Can I apply for energy assistance, and does a shutoff notice move this to crisis help?”
How to apply
First step: Apply through the local energy assistance provider for your county.
- Apply through the local provider before the season closes.
- Say if a shutoff notice has arrived, which moves it to crisis help.
- Ask about the equipment repair route if the furnace is failing.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Apply through the local provider for your county; applications usually close at the end of May.
What to gather
- Recent utility bills and any shutoff notice
- Income documents for the period the local office confirms
How long: Processed by the local provider; crisis cases are handled faster.
What a yes looks like
A credit paid straight to the utility.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Ask which income figure was used and reapply if it changes.
Watch out
- The local office confirms which season is open and whether crisis funds are available.
- Medical utility protection and utility-specific payment help are separate from a grant.
Dates that change this
2026-10-01: Higher income limits take effect on October 1, 2026: $5,177 a month for three and $6,164 for four. Do not use them before that date.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Seasonal help with heating and electricity. The published 2026–27 household-of-four screen is $73,969 annually; the local office confirms the applicable season and complete table.
- $5,039/month — Monthly income limit, household of 3, to September 30, 2026
- $5,999/month — Monthly income limit, household of 4, to September 30, 2026
- $4,079/month — Monthly income limit, household of 2, to September 30, 2026
Covers: A payment toward heating and electricity · Crisis help when the supply is at risk · Repair or replacement of heating equipment in some cases
What it costs the family: None.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Income
- at or under 50 percent of state median income
- Residency
- Minnesota
The trap: The programme year runs October to September, but applications usually close at the end of May. Applying late in the season is the common way families miss it.
Where I read this
- Minnesota Energy Assistance Program income guidelines — Minnesota Department of Human Services, read September 10, 2026