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

Childhood Cancer Lantern
Search Saved

Mississippi program

Help with the power bill (LIHEAP)

Energy assistance pays your utility toward the bill, with a faster route for a crisis.

What it is

Energy assistance pays your utility toward the bill, with a faster route for a crisis.

Energy bills can become harder after a change in pay. Mississippi checks recent income and funding availability. A threatened shutoff has a separate crisis route, especially when medical equipment needs power.

Eligibility rules
  • Mississippi accepts applications year-round in all 82 counties, subject to funds.
  • The income scale is 60% of state median income. From October 1, 2025, annual figures range from $26,740 for one person to $67,879 for six. The four-person figure is $51,424.
What you get
  • Up to $1,500 toward utility bills in a program year.
  • Possible heating or cooling equipment repair or replacement outside that cap.
  • A faster crisis route when a shutoff threatens life-sustaining medical equipment.
What this includes
  • Payments go to the utility. High medical expenses are a listed crisis reason.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the local community action agency or MDHS to discuss energy assistance with you.
  2. Bring the latest utility bill, any shutoff notice, and last month’s household income.
  3. Describe equipment that needs power and have the clinic’s letter available if a shutoff is threatened.

Mississippi Department of Human Services, through local community agencies · Official page ↗

What happens next
  • For a life-support or electric-medical-device crisis, the January 2026 manual gives a same-day interview and approval within 18 hours of initial application. Other qualifying crises require relief within 48 hours of an approved application.
  • An ordinary approved payment to the utility is due within 20 business days.
Good to know

An ordinary appointment can take 30 or 45 business days. The crisis route uses a different clock.

Other details
  • A funding shortage differs from an income denial. The community agency can explain which condition affected the result.
  • The January 2026 manual uses 60% of state median income and generally allows up to $1,500, with an equipment exception and funding limits. For the program year beginning October 1, 2026, the local energy agency confirms the new dollar income table and benefit cap before a family relies on those amounts.

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

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“What are the benefits and drawbacks of energy assistance, and could you help us apply through the right route if we qualify?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand whether the utility bill can be reduced and how a crisis changes the process.

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, bring the bill and the shutoff notice, and say if medical equipment depends on the power.

Your social worker

The hospital social worker can write a note about equipment in the home.

The care team

A note listing the equipment at home and why it needs mains power supports the life-threatening crisis route.

Who decides
The Mississippi Department of Human Services, through the local community agency that takes the application.
Ask your social worker
“A shutoff notice has arrived and my child has equipment at home that needs power. Can someone write that down for the energy crisis application?”

How to apply

First step: Apply through MDHS or the local community action agency. If a shutoff is threatened, ring the same day and use the word crisis.

  1. If a shutoff notice has arrived, ring today and use the word crisis.
  2. Say plainly if your child has equipment at home that needs power.
  3. Otherwise apply in the month after the income drops.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Apply through MDHS or the local community action agency. If a shutoff is threatened, say so on the call, and say if medical equipment depends on the power.

What to gather

  • The most recent power bill and any shutoff notice
  • Household income for the last month
  • A note about equipment at home that needs power

How long: Same-day interview and 18 hours when life-sustaining equipment is at risk; 48 hours for any other crisis once approved; 30 or 45 business days for an ordinary appointment.

What a yes looks like

A credit paid to the power company, due within 20 business days of approval.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask whether it was the income scale or the funds running out, and when the next funding opens.

Watch out

  • An ordinary appointment can be 30 or 45 business days out. A crisis is a different route with its own clock.
  • Say if medical equipment at home depends on the power: that turns it into the 18-hour route.
  • Help is subject to funds, and the cap is $1,500 a household in a programme year.

The numbers and the rules

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

What it is worth

Up to $1,500 a household in a programme year towards the power bill. A shutoff threatening life-sustaining equipment is decided within 18 hours.

  • $1,500 — Ceiling on help in one programme year
  • $18 — Decision clock when a shutoff threatens life-sustaining equipment
  • $48 — Clock for any other energy crisis, once the application is approved
  • $51,424/year — Income scale, household of 4, annual
  • $20 — Payment to the utility once approved

Covers: Money paid to the power company towards the bill · A crisis route for a threatened shutoff · Repair or replacement of heating and cooling equipment, outside the $1,500 cap

Legal protection: Same-day interview and an 18-hour decision when a shutoff threatens life-sustaining medical equipment · High medical expenses are a listed crisis reason

What it costs the family: Nothing to apply.

The eligibility facts, as published

Income
60 percent of state median income: $26,740 a year for one person up to $67,879 for six, from October 1, 2025
Residency
Mississippi, all 82 counties
Season
applications are taken all year round, subject to funds

Decisions this site cannot make: MDHS or a local community agency decision

Expect friction on: Money runs out: help is subject to available funds · Routine appointments run 30 or 45 business days out

The trap: Ordinary appointments run 30 business days out for a household with a young or disabled member and 45 for everyone else. Do not join that queue when you have a shutoff notice: say the words 'energy crisis' and, if medical equipment is involved, say that too. Those are different routes with different clocks.

Where I read this

← Back to your options