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

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Virginia program

Help with heating, cooling and power bills

Virginia offers seasonal energy help and an income-based payment plan for some electric customers.

What it is

Virginia offers seasonal energy help and an income-based payment plan for some electric customers.

The right route depends on your utility and whether the problem is fuel, cooling or a crisis. The payment plan is separate from seasonal grants. A shutoff notice may change which conversation comes first.

Eligibility rules
  • Both programs use an income ceiling of 150% of poverty.
  • The gross-income screen is 150% of the federal poverty guideline. You also need a household energy expense and must meet the component’s other rules. Your local Department of Social Services confirms the current dollar limit, household members and income included.
What you get
  • Seasonal help with heating, cooling or an energy crisis.
  • A qualifying payment plan caps the bill at 10% of income with electric heat, or 6% otherwise.
What the rules cover
  • The Percentage of Income Payment Program serves qualifying Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power customers, subject to rules and funding. Payments are 10% of income with electric heat or 6% otherwise. Qualifying on-time payments forgive one-twelfth of arrears each month.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the local Department of Social Services which energy-assistance window is open.
  2. Bring the current bill, household income and any shutoff notice. Ask whether your utility participates in the payment plan.

The local Department of Social Services · Official page ↗

If you decide to apply
  • Fuel assistance applications are taken from mid-October to mid-November (October 13 to November 13 in 2026). Crisis help for equipment runs November 1 to March 15, and crisis help with a heating bill from early January to March 15.
  • Cooling help requires a household member age 60 or older, disabled, or younger than 6, along with the other program rules.
  • Cooling help opens June 15 each year and closes in late summer; the local office can say whether it is still open.
Good to know

The payment plan serves Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power customers. Cooperatives and municipal systems are outside it.

Other details
  • A medical shutoff certificate is a separate protection. It delays a shutoff but does not pay the balance.

Federal background: LIHEAP

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Which energy help fits our utility and the bill we are facing? Could you help compare seasonal help with the capped payment plan and check the deadline?”

Why I’m asking: Treatment makes it especially important to keep power and heating available.

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 inside the season window with the current bill.

Your social worker

The social worker can flag the crisis route if a shutoff notice has already arrived.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The local Department of Social Services
Ask your social worker
“We are behind on the power bill and our child is in treatment. Is the crisis window open, and do we qualify for the capped payment plan?”

How to apply

First step: Apply at the local benefits office or on CommonHelp inside the season window, with the latest bill.

  1. Diary the October window now; the fuel application closes in November.
  2. If the electricity supplier is one of the two large utilities, ask about the capped payment plan.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Apply on CommonHelp or at the local benefits office inside the season window.

What to gather

  • The most recent energy bill and any shutoff notice
  • This month's income
  • Identity documents

How long: Decisions run within the season; no measured turnaround was published.

What a yes looks like

A payment made directly to the utility, or a capped monthly amount on the plan.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Over the income line, or outside the window. The medical certificate still holds off a shutoff for 30 days.

Watch out

  • The windows are narrow and are set by weekday, not calendar date.
  • The capped payment plan covers only the two large electric utilities, not co-operatives or municipal systems.
  • No current dollar table was published, so the local office has the figures.

The numbers and the rules

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

What it is worth

Seasonal help with heating, cooling and crises at 150% of the poverty line, plus a bill capped at 10% of income with electric heat, 6% otherwise.

  • $10 — Share of income a household pays with electric heat on the payment plan
  • $6 — Share of income a household pays with another heat source

Covers: Fuel assistance in the autumn window · Crisis help with equipment and deposits in winter · Cooling assistance in summer · A capped payment plan for two electric utilities

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Income
150% of the poverty line for both programmes (the published percentage; the 2026 dollar table was NOT FOUND)
Windows
fuel: second Tuesday in October to second Friday in November; crisis: November 1 to March 15; cooling: from June 15 (the closing date is printed as August 17 on the page and August 15 on the sheet)
Payment plan
customers of the two large electric utilities, at or below 150% of the poverty line

The trap: The application windows are narrow and are stated by weekday, not by calendar date. Fuel help runs from the second Tuesday in October to the second Friday in November; crisis help for equipment and deposits from November 1 to March 15; cooling from June 15, with the current page and the printed sheet disagreeing on whether it closes on the 15th or the 17th of August.

Where I read this

← Back to your options