Can’t Pay Your Electric Bill? Help and Legal Options

If you can’t pay your electric bill, call the utility before the due date passes and ask for a payment plan, then apply for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) through your local community action agency. Most states also block disconnection during dangerous heat or cold, and households with medical equipment or vulnerable members can qualify for extra time. The steps below work best in that order, because your options narrow the longer the bill sits unpaid.

Call the Utility Before the Due Date

The single call that helps most is the one you make before you actually miss a payment. Utility companies would rather set up an arrangement than pay to disconnect and later reconnect your service, and you lose bargaining power once the account is already past due.

Ask specifically about a deferred payment agreement. These plans spread your past-due balance across several months of installments added to your regular bill. Most require a down payment, and the terms depend on how much you owe and your history with the company. If you miss a payment on either the plan or your current charges, the utility can cancel the arrangement and move toward disconnection without offering a second one.

Two other requests are worth making on the same call:

Budget billing, which averages your annual energy costs into equal monthly payments. It doesn’t lower the total, but it flattens the seasonal spikes.
A payment extension. Some utilities grant an extra five to ten days beyond the due date for customers with a clean history. Useful if your paycheck lands a few days late.

Finally, ask whether the company runs its own hardship or customer assistance program. Many larger utilities offer bill discounts or reduced rates for low-income customers on top of anything the government provides. These vary by provider, so there is no national standard, and customer service is the fastest way to find out what applies to you.

Apply for LIHEAP

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is the largest federal program for household energy costs. The Department of Health and Human Services sends block grants to states, which run the program locally through community action agencies.¹ For fiscal year 2026, LIHEAP received approximately $4 billion in federal funding.

There are two flavors of help. Regular heating and cooling assistance covers part of your bill during high-use months. Crisis assistance targets households facing imminent disconnection or already without power, and the payment goes directly to the utility to restore or maintain service.¹ States must provide crisis energy assistance through at least March 15 each year.

Income limits are more generous than most people assume. Under federal law, states must accept households earning up to the greater of 150% of the federal poverty guidelines or 60% of the state median income, and cannot exclude any household earning below 110% of the poverty level.² For 2026, the federal poverty guideline is $15,960 for an individual and $33,000 for a family of four.³ At 150%, a single person earning up to about $23,940 or a family of four earning up to about $49,500 could qualify, depending on the state.

Households already receiving SNAP, TANF, SSI, or certain veterans’ benefits are automatically income-eligible for LIHEAP.²

Documents You Will Need

Gather these before you contact the agency, because incomplete applications sit:

Proof of income for every adult in the household covering the past 30 days: pay stubs, Social Security benefit statements, unemployment records, or similar.
Government-issued photo ID for each adult.
Social Security numbers for every person in the home.
A current utility bill showing the account number, balance, and provider.
Proof of housing: a lease for renters, a deed or property tax statement for homeowners.

Where to Apply

LIHEAP applications go through local community action agencies, not the federal government. Find yours by calling 211 or searching the LIHEAP Clearinghouse at liheapch.acf.gov. Most agencies take applications online, by mail, or in person. Approved grants are applied directly to your utility account as a credit, so you never handle the money.¹ Demand is heaviest in winter, so applying early in the heating season helps you get funded before a crisis hits.

If You Are Denied

Federal law requires every state LIHEAP program to offer a fair administrative hearing if your application is denied or not acted on with reasonable promptness.² The denial notice should explain how to request one. Many states set a 30-day filing deadline, so read the notice as soon as it arrives. You can also reapply if your circumstances change.

Local Nonprofit and Community Help

Government programs sometimes have waiting lists or run out of funds. Nonprofits fill those gaps.

Dial 211 from any phone to reach United Way’s referral network, which connects you with local nonprofits, utility discount programs, and emergency funds specific to your area. Utility and housing bills are the largest category of requests the 211 network receives.⁴ The 211 database is also searchable online.

The Salvation Army operates energy assistance programs in many areas, including HeatShare and the Energy Assistance Service, both of which provide emergency payments for electric, gas, and heating fuel bills.⁵ Local churches, community foundations, and other charities often maintain smaller emergency funds. A 211 specialist can tell you which are active in your area right now.

Protections That Slow Down a Disconnection

Written Notice

Utilities cannot cut power without warning. State public utility commissions require written notice before any termination for nonpayment, and most states require at least seven to ten days of advance notice. That window is your chance to negotiate a plan, apply for assistance, or invoke one of the protections below. If your service was disconnected without proper notice, file a complaint with your state’s public utility commission.

Extreme Weather Moratoriums

Most states prohibit disconnection during dangerous weather. Forty-two states have cold weather protections and 19 have hot weather protections, with common trigger points at temperatures forecast below 32°F or above 95°F.⁶ Some states use fixed seasonal windows instead. In most places these moratoriums are automatic, but you still need to know they exist so you can push back if a utility threatens disconnection during a protected period.

Medical and Vulnerability Certificates

If someone in your household depends on electrically powered medical equipment such as an oxygen concentrator, ventilator, or dialysis machine, you can typically delay disconnection with a medical certificate signed by a physician. In states that offer this protection, the certificate is commonly valid for 30 days and can often be renewed for another 30. Forty-four states have policies preventing disconnection for vulnerable populations, including seniors and people with disabilities.⁶ Many utilities maintain registries for these households that require extra notification steps before any interruption. Ask your utility how to enroll.

What It Costs If Power Is Already Off

Reconnection is not free. Utilities charge a fee to restore service, with same-day or after-hours restoration costing more than a next-business-day appointment. The exact amount depends on your provider, but expect anywhere from $25 to over $100. If your account or credit history has taken a hit from the missed payments, the utility may also require a security deposit before turning service back on, which can run several hundred dollars. These costs sit on top of the past-due balance you already owe.

Unpaid utility debt can also damage your credit for years. Utilities typically send delinquent accounts to collections after roughly 120 to 180 days of nonpayment. Once the debt reaches collections, it can appear on your credit report and stay there for up to seven years.⁷ A damaged score makes it harder to open a new utility account without a large deposit. When you negotiate a payment arrangement, ask whether the company will report the late payments to credit bureaus while the arrangement is active.

Bring Down Next Month’s Bill

Assistance handles the immediate crisis. Lowering usage keeps the problem from repeating. Most of these steps cost nothing.

Set your thermostat back 7 to 10 degrees for eight hours a day, such as while sleeping or at work. That can trim heating and cooling costs by roughly 10% per year.⁸
Lower your water heater to 120°F. Water heating is about 18% of home energy use, and most heaters are set higher than they need to be.⁹
Plug TVs, consoles, and chargers into power strips and switch them off when not in use. Standby mode still draws power.
Run full loads of laundry and dishes, and use cold water for laundry when possible.
Reheat or cook small meals in a toaster oven or microwave rather than a full-size oven.
Caulk and weatherstrip around doors and windows. Both are cheap and make a measurable difference.

For structural fixes, the Weatherization Assistance Program funds improvements like added insulation, sealed air leaks, and repairs or replacement of heating and cooling systems. Upgrades save households an average of $372 or more per year.¹⁰ The work also includes safety testing on combustion appliances and installing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms when needed.¹¹ Eligibility is generally tied to the same income guidelines as LIHEAP, the program is free to qualifying households, and your community action agency can process both applications together.

If You Rent and Your Landlord Pays the Electric

Tenants in buildings on a master utility account face a different problem: the company might shut off service to the whole building because the landlord stopped paying. Most states have laws prohibiting landlords from causing an interruption of utility service to tenants. In many jurisdictions, a tenant whose service is illegally cut off by a landlord’s nonpayment can recover damages, terminate the lease, or both. Contact your state’s public utility commission or a local tenant rights organization right away. You may also be able to arrange direct payment to the utility to keep service running while you sort out the dispute with your landlord.

1
Administration for Children & Families (Office of Community Services). LIHEAP Fact Sheet
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 8624 – Applications and Requirements
3
HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines – 48 Contiguous States
4
United Way 211. I Need Help Paying My Bills
5
Salvation Army USA. Utilities Assistance and Help for Midwest Residents
6
The LIHEAP Clearinghouse. Disconnect Policies
7
Federal Trade Commission. Getting Utility Services – Why Your Credit Matters
8
U.S. Department of Energy. Energy Savers – Tips on Saving Money and Energy at Home
9
Department of Energy. Spring and Summer Energy-Saving Tips
10
Department of Energy. Weatherization Assistance Program
11
U.S. Department of Energy. The Weatherization Assistance Program Fact Sheet