California energy and utility bill assistance: LIHEAP, HEAP, ECIP and weatherization (2026)

CSD writes the rules; 41 Local Service Providers take the applications

CSD does not take LIHEAP applications from individuals. The 2026 State Plan lists 41 Local Service Providers: community action agencies, other nonprofits and some county departments, designated under Government Code section 16367.5 ⁠³. The local provider decides whether you qualify and figures your benefit. For gas and electric bills, CSD then pays the utility directly from Sacramento. For wood, propane and oil, the local provider pays the fuel dealer ⁠³.

Los Angeles County is served by three providers in CSD’s 2026 benefit tables (Maravilla Foundation, PACE and Long Beach Community Services Development Corporation). San Diego County has two (MAAC and Campesinos Unidos). One agency, Central Coast Energy Services, covers Monterey, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties ⁠³. There is no statewide online application. The State Plan says an online form exists only where a local provider has built one. Documents can go in person, by mail, email, fax, drop box or text, or during a home visit ⁠³.

California’s 60% of state median income test, in monthly dollars

California uses the highest income ceiling federal law allows for LIHEAP: 60% of state median income, for every component and every household size ⁠³. CSD publishes the limit only as gross monthly income. For a household of four, $6,407.16 a month works out to about $76,886 a year ⁠². The chart rises slowly after six people: $8,649.66 for seven, plus $192.21 a month for each person beyond 10 ⁠².

Two more rules apply:

• CalFresh or CalWORKs overrides income. If any household member receives CalFresh (SNAP) or CalWORKs (TANF) when you apply, the household is categorically eligible at any income. Income is still recorded on the application, and the benefit is calculated the same way as for anyone else ⁠³.
• One month of income is what counts. Providers verify one month of gross income for every household member. They also collect copies of all current energy bills so they can calculate your energy burden ⁠³.

California sets no asset test for heating or cooling help ⁠³. The applicant must be 18 or legally emancipated, a California resident, responsible for the energy bill, and a U.S. citizen or qualified non-citizen. CSD asks for a Social Security number on the Energy Intake Form (CSD 43) but cannot deny you for not giving one ⁠³.

How CSD’s county matrix sets a HEAP payment

HEAP payments come from a table, not from your actual bill. CSD surveys utility rates by county each year and sets a county base benefit for four poverty groups ⁠³. In CSD’s 2026 sample table, the four groups for a household of four end at $2,679.17, $3,348.96, $4,018.75 and $6,407.16 a month ⁠³. The first three cutoffs equal 100%, 125% and 150% of the 2025 federal poverty guideline (our calculation), and Group IV runs up to the 60% SMI limit. The base amount is for one person. Households of two through six add $19 for each additional person, and households above six get the six-person amount ⁠³.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: CSD’s 2026 LIHEAP County Base Benefit Amounts, attached to the FFY 2026 State Plan ⁠³. Example: four people in Los Angeles County, Group I: $544.

Across the state, the plan sets 2026 gas and electric payments between $283 (Santa Barbara County, Group IV) and $932 ⁠³. Wood, propane and oil users are paid from a separate matrix based on county heating degree days, with $35 to $105 added for higher energy burden and $105 for a household with an older adult, a person with a disability or a young child. It is capped at $1,000, plus up to $500 when a vendor needs it to deliver; wood is paid as one to three cords ⁠³.

You can receive only one HEAP, Fast Track or wood, propane and oil payment per program year ⁠³. The FFY 2027 draft State Plan proposes a lower range for electric payments in the program year that began October 1, 2026, from $246 to $887. It is still a draft ⁠⁴.

Fast Track, wood and propane, and broken heaters under ECIP

ECIP is California’s year-round crisis component. Under the 2026 plan it covers Fast Track bill payments, ECIP WPO for wood, propane and oil, Emergency Heating and Cooling Services (EHCS) for equipment repair or replacement, disaster help (SWEATS), and backup power for medically vulnerable households in high fire-risk areas ⁠³.

You may qualify for crisis help if you have a shutoff notice or have already been disconnected, or if you cannot pay a past-due bill or the deposit for a new account. You may also qualify if you cannot buy essential firewood, oil or propane, or if your heater or air conditioner is broken, missing or unsafe and someone in the household has a medical need for temperature control ⁠³. A Fast Track payment cannot exceed the full utility bill, including reconnection fees, or $1,500, whichever is less ⁠³. CSD’s standard is to resolve the crisis within 48 hours, or 18 hours in a life-threatening situation. California defines that as having no heating, cooling or utility service during extreme weather ⁠³.

Under CSD’s agreement with utilities, a provider’s pledge posts as a pending credit, and the utility must honor it for up to 60 days when deciding on any scheduled disconnection ⁠³.

Applying with your county’s Local Service Provider in California

1. Find your provider

   Open CSD’s Find Services in Your Area page, choose Energy Bill Assistance, and enter your city or ZIP code or click your county ⁠⁵. If the search gives you no answer, dial 2-1-1, which runs 24 hours a day ⁠¹.

2. Ask how that agency takes applications

   Ask about phone intake, an online form, mail or a drop box, and about home visits if you cannot travel ⁠³.

3. Gather one month of income proof

   Bring pay stubs, benefit letters, and pension, unemployment or child support records for everyone in the household. A CalFresh or CalWORKs notice of action proves categorical eligibility ⁠³.

4. Bring every current energy bill

   Bring the latest electric and gas bills, a propane or oil receipt if you use those fuels, and any disconnection notice. The provider uses them to calculate your energy burden ⁠³.

5. Bring citizenship or immigration proof for the applicant

   A U.S. birth certificate, passport or REAL ID card works; qualified non-citizens bring their immigration document ⁠³.

6. Say so right away if it is an emergency

   Tell the intake worker if service is off, a shutoff date is on the notice, or the heater or air conditioner has failed. That starts the 48-hour or 18-hour crisis clock ⁠³.

7. Watch your bill for the credit

   Gas and electric payments show on your bill as a LIHEAP credit, and the provider sends a letter with the amount ⁠³.

8. Ask about CARE and weatherization, then reapply next year

   Providers refer clients to both, and benefits are once per program year ⁠³.

Weatherization at 200% of poverty through the same agencies

The same Local Service Providers run weatherization with LIHEAP money and with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program funds ⁠⁶. The income tests differ. LIHEAP-funded weatherization uses the 60% SMI chart ⁠³. DOE-funded work uses 200% of the poverty guidelines: $5,500 a month for four, effective July 1, 2026 ⁠⁷. DOE also treats households in HUD means-tested housing programs as income-eligible ⁠³.

Work starts with an energy audit and safety testing, and can include attic insulation, carbon monoxide and smoke alarms, and repair or replacement of furnaces, air conditioners, water heaters and cooking appliances ⁠³. CSD prioritizes applicants by income, energy burden and vulnerable household members. Renters need the landlord to sign a CSD form allowing the work ⁠³. CSD publishes no wait times. CSD’s toll-free line for home energy efficiency is (866) 675-6623 ⁠⁶.

CARE, FERA and the utility shutoff rules the CPUC sets

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) oversees two bill discounts paid for by other ratepayers ⁠⁸. CARE takes 30% to 35% off electric bills at large utilities, 20% at utilities with fewer than 100,000 accounts, and 20% off natural gas bills. From June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027, the CARE income limit is $43,280 a year for one or two people and $66,000 for four. Households enrolled in LIHEAP, CalFresh, Medi-Cal, WIC, SSI, CalWORKs or free school lunch also qualify ⁠⁸. FERA gives an 18% electric discount to PG&E, SCE and SDG&E customers with incomes up to 250% of poverty, $82,500 for four ⁠⁸. You enroll through your utility, not through CSD.

CARE and FERA customers at the large utilities can also use the Arrearage Management Plan. At SCE, you need a past-due balance over $500, some of it more than 90 days old, and at least six months as a customer. Each on-time payment wipes out one-twelfth of the old debt, up to $8,000 over 12 payments. Missing two payments in a row, or three non-consecutive payments, ends the plan ⁠⁹. Medical Baseline adds energy at the lowest rate for people on life-support equipment ⁠¹⁰.

California also limits shutoffs in extreme weather. Under the CPUC’s 2020 rule, the large utilities may not disconnect a residential customer when temperatures above 100°F or below 32°F are forecast within 72 hours ⁠¹¹. The revised text of Resolution E-5468, on the CPUC’s July 16, 2026 agenda, lowers the heat trigger to 90°F as an interim and fallback threshold. It also moves PG&E, SCE and SDG&E toward a heat-risk index called CalHeatScore ⁠¹¹.

Appealing a denial to CSD within 10 working days

If a provider denies you, it must tell you in writing why, and a senior official other than the original decision-maker must review your case if you ask ⁠³. If that review goes against you, send a written appeal to CSD within 10 working days of the provider’s final decision. CSD must offer a fair hearing, scheduled no later than 15 working days after your request, with at least 5 working days’ notice. The hearing officer must issue a written decision within 30 calendar days ⁠³⁠¹². You may bring a representative and witnesses ⁠³.

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