How to get help paying your electric bill

Start with your billing provider, 211, or your local Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) office.^⁠[1,2,3] LIHEAP can help with heating, cooling and energy crises. Electric-bill help depends on where you live.^⁠[3]

Use the table to name the kind of help you need. Ask whether an offer reduces charges, helps pay a balance, or changes payment dates. Then ask what you would still owe before agreeing to it.

Ask about discounts and payment arrangements separately; ComEd lists both as distinct options.^⁠[1] Start with the billing contact on your current bill. In Oncor’s part of Texas, Oncor directs billing and shut-off questions about unpaid bills to the company that sells you electricity.^⁠[9]

• Ask about a discount. ComEd’s income-based monthly discount is one example.^⁠[1] Ask which programs your own provider offers.
• Ask about installments. Con Edison’s payment agreement spreads an outstanding balance into monthly payments.^⁠[4] Ask about an upfront payment, due dates and new bills.
• Ask about a hardship fund. Duke Indiana uses local community action agencies to screen for Share the Light help.^⁠[5] Ask who handles applications for your provider.

Before accepting a plan, ask what happens if you miss a payment. Request the terms in writing and compare them with what you can pay. For future budgeting, Con Edison’s budget billing spreads payments across the year.^⁠[10]

If losing power causes a medical emergency, call 911 immediately.^⁠[11]

Contact your billing provider promptly and tell the local agency about your notice date. Illinois LIHEAP specifically directs people with a dated disconnect notice, or disconnected heat-related gas or electric service, to call their county agency.^⁠[12] Elsewhere, ask the LIHEAP office which local contact handles crisis help.^⁠[3,6]

Tell both contacts the amount due, the notice date and whether service is already off. Ask the agency about crisis review and the provider about payment options. If service is already off, ask the billing provider what is required to reconnect it and when reconnection can happen.

Write down the answers, including who to call if you haven’t heard back.

Call 211 or use its local contact search to find someone in your area.^⁠[2] For Salvation Army services, start with its national utility-help page and local service finder.^⁠[7]

• Check the service area

  Give your address or ZIP code. Ask whether this office handles your area and billing provider.

• Check the next step

  Ask whether applications are open, whether funds remain, and where to submit your request.

These contacts can point you to a local office that checks whether you qualify.^⁠[2,7] Ask which agency makes the decision and how to reach it directly. If the first referral cannot help, ask for another local contact rather than repeating the same application.

Before you finish the call, ask how to get the exact document list. Also ask about language help or another way to submit documents if you need it. Keep the agency’s name beside its contact details so you know who to follow up with.

Get the document list from the program handling your application. Illinois LIHEAP, for example, requests recent income evidence and an energy bill when energy is paid directly.^⁠[12] Use these prompts to prepare, then check what your own administrator requires.

• Have your bill nearby

  Find the account number, service address, billing provider and amount due. Ask which bill pages to submit.

• Keep any notice nearby

  Have the notice date ready. Tell the agency if service is already disconnected.

• Ask about household records

  Ask whose income to report, which period to cover and which records the program accepts.

• Ask about ID and address

  Request the exact list. Explain any missing document and ask what alternatives the agency accepts.

You can find the account details on your electric bill before calling. Illinois says you can still apply without a Social Security number (SSN) or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).^⁠[12] Ask your own administrator how its requirements apply to you.

Confirm where to apply, save what you send, and agree on a follow-up step. Use this checklist as your own record. Ask the agency to clarify anything you cannot complete.

If you’re waiting, use your saved confirmation when you contact the agency. Ask which step remains and whether you need to send anything else. Keep checking your bill with the provider rather than assuming a submitted application has changed it.

Ask about a different type of help through your provider or 211.^⁠[1,2] Start by asking why this application could not proceed. Then ask whether a different local program or payment arrangement fits your situation.

That is PG&E’s rule for its own program, not a national eligibility rule.^⁠[8] If medical equipment or a condition affects your electricity needs, ask your provider about its programs. PG&E still requires monthly payments, and says service could be disconnected if payments stop.^⁠[8]

For longer-term help managing the account, explore other ways to manage your electric account. Keep today’s payment question separate: ask each contact what you should do next about the current balance.

We find the assistance programs near you. Which programs are available depends on your utility, your state, and your eligibility.^⁠[13] Explore Public Grid’s accessible energy options.

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Sample account