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

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Tennessee program

Help with the power bill

Your county’s energy assistance program can help pay a household power or heating bill.

What it is

Your county’s energy assistance program can help pay a household power or heating bill.

Energy assistance can help when household income meets the county’s limit. Local agencies handle intake and decide when applications open. The income measure is the state’s median income, which differs from the poverty line.

Eligibility rules
  • The program uses 60% of state median income, usually with a county-residency requirement.
  • For two people the line is about $3,493 a month.
  • The line is about $5,137 a month for four people in Shelby County; other counties' tables differ slightly. Shelby's grants run from $175 to $750, and each agency opens and closes intake on its own dates.
What you get
  • A payment toward an eligible energy bill.
What the help covers
  • The county agency decides the payment and available funding.
  • If a shutoff is coming and losing power would worsen your child's illness, a doctor's certificate can hold it off for 30 days at a regulated electric or gas company; the bill still stands. City utilities and cooperatives have their own rules. The Public Utility Commission's consumer line is 1-800-342-8359.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the social worker which agency serves your county.
  2. Ask that agency about open intake and bring the energy bill and household income information.
  3. If a shutoff is approaching, ask the utility separately what arrangements it can offer.

Your county energy agency; Shelby County CSA or Nashville Metropolitan Action Commission where applicable. · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • Davidson County uses an October-to-September program year. Other local intake dates can differ.
Good to know

An energy-assistance request does not stop a shutoff or guarantee when a payment will arrive. The social worker can help check open intake and separate utility payment or medical-emergency arrangements.

Other details
  • Shelby County Community Services Agency and Nashville’s Metropolitan Action Commission run their local programs. There is no single statewide application.

Federal background: Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could energy assistance help with our bill, and how long might a payment take? Could you help us find the county agency and understand any shutoff arrangements?”

Why I’m asking: I want to know what can keep the power on while an assistance request is considered.

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

Call the county agency, and call the utility too if a shutoff date is coming.

Your social worker

The social worker can name the agency for your county.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The county agency.
Ask the agency
“Is energy assistance intake open? My child is in cancer treatment and the power bill is behind.”

How to apply

First step: Call your county agency and ask whether intake is open and what a crisis application needs.

  1. Call the county agency and ask whether intake is open and what a crisis case needs.
  2. If a shutoff date is coming, call the utility as well and ask what it offers.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Call your county agency. Shelby County Community Services Agency and Nashville’s Metropolitan Action Commission run the two largest.

What to gather

  • The energy bill and any shutoff notice
  • Proof of income for everyone at home
  • Proof of address

How long: Varies by county. Shelby County warns a crisis case can take 30 to 45 days to reach the utility account.

What a yes looks like

A payment posted to the utility account.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask whether it was income, the county or the funding, and ask when intake reopens.

Watch out

  • Every county runs its own intake and its own opening dates. There is no statewide application.
  • A crisis case can take weeks to reach the utility account. It is not a hold on a shutoff.
  • We could not verify any Tennessee rule that a doctor’s note postpones a shutoff. Ask the utility directly.

Dates that change this

2025-10-01: Counties publish their own copies of the state housing agency’s income table and two of them disagree on the figure for a household of six. No approved statewide table was found. Treat the figure here as a guide and let the county decide. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)

The numbers and the rules

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

What it is worth

Help with an energy bill for a household at or under about $5,137 a month for four, decided by your county agency.

  • $5,136.75/month — Income ceiling, household of 4, as Shelby County publishes it (60 percent of the state median income)
  • $3,492.91/month — Income ceiling, household of 2, as Shelby County publishes it

Covers: A payment toward an energy bill · Crisis help while funding lasts

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Income
at or below 60 percent of the state’s median income
Administration
county agencies; residence in the county is usually required
Program year
October to September in Davidson County; other counties set their own dates

Expect friction on: Your county agency, not the state, takes the application · Intake opens and closes with the funding, and a crisis case can still take weeks to reach the utility

The trap: Shelby County warns that a crisis application can take 30 to 45 days just to reach the utility account. That is not a hold on a shutoff. If a shutoff date is coming, tell the utility as well and ask what it offers.

Where I read this

← Back to your options