Illinois energy and utility bill assistance: LIHEAP, discounts and IHWAP (2026-27)

Two income ceilings in Program Year 2027, depending on who sends your heating bill

Illinois now uses two income limits, and which one applies depends on your energy company. Customers of Ameren Illinois, ComEd, Nicor Gas, North Shore Gas and Peoples Gas qualify if household gross income for the 30 days before applying is at or below 300% of the 2026 federal poverty guidelines ⁠². That is $3,990 for 30 days for one person, $6,830 for three and $8,250 for four ⁠². Households that buy heat from vendors paid with federal funds, such as propane dealers, rural electric co-ops and municipal utilities, must be at or below 60% of state median income (SMI) ⁠². The draft FFY 2027 plan applies 60% SMI to households of 1 to 12 people and 150% of poverty to households of 13 or more ⁠⁴.

DCEO does not print the dollar figures for 60% SMI on its pages. The most recent federal table, for FFY 2026, put 60% SMI for Illinois at $39,979 for one person and $76,884 for four ⁠¹⁵. Ask your LAA for the current figure if you heat with propane or buy power from a co-op. DCEO also says it can lower either limit if federal funding falls short ⁠².

In Program Year 2026, by contrast, every household faced the 60% SMI limit ⁠⁵. Benefits from SNAP, TANF cash or AABD cash in the month before you apply make you categorically eligible. Even so, DCEO still requires every applicant to document household income ⁠⁴. There is no asset test, and income is counted gross, before taxes ⁠⁴.

Applying in Illinois: from the Help Illinois Families form to a vendor payment

1. Check your start date

   Applications opened October 1, 2026 for older adults (60+), people with a disability, households with a child age 5 or under, and households that are disconnected, have a disconnect date within 7 days or have less than 25% left in a propane tank. Everyone else can apply from November 1, 2026. The window closes August 13, 2027, or earlier if funds run out ⁠².

2. Use the Request for Services form or call your LAA

   The Help Illinois Families form is a request for contact, not the application itself. Your LAA reaches out to complete it, and DCEO estimates that can take a week to a month ⁠⁷. If you are disconnected or have a disconnect date, skip the form and call the agency for your county on DCEO’s Where to Apply list ⁠²⁠⁶.

3. Collect 30 days of proof

   You need income proof for each household member for the past 30 days, a heating or electric bill issued in the last 30 days, and Social Security cards or ITINs if household members have them. Renters whose heat is included in the rent need a lease showing that, the monthly rent and the landlord’s contact details. Bring proof of TANF, SNAP or medical benefits if you receive them ⁠². People paid in cash complete an Income Affidavit. If every adult claims zero income, you need a Zero Income Affidavit plus supporting proof, such as a benefits denial or subsidized-housing letter ⁠³.

4. Make sure the bill is in your name

   You must be the utility’s customer of record. People without an SSN or ITIN can still apply, and the LAA will explain the options ⁠³.

5. Follow up after three weeks

   If no one has contacted you three weeks after you submit the form, call the LAA directly. For help with the form, call 1-833-711-0374 ⁠².

6. Track the decision

   The LAA must approve or deny a complete application within 30 days and pay the vendor within 45 days after approval ⁠³. Check status on the LIHEAP Customer Inquiry site with the seven-digit Application ID that starts with 8 ⁠².

Older adults and people with disabilities on fixed incomes may be re-enrolled by their LAA using a cost-of-living adjustment, with a full income check every three program years ⁠⁴.

What the one-time Direct Vendor Payment is worth

LIHEAP in Illinois is a single payment per program year, not a monthly benefit ⁠³. The LAA sends it to your utility or fuel dealer. It equals a share of average gas and electric bills, set from a payment schedule ⁠³. The amount depends on household income and size, fuel type, region, and whether you pay the utility directly or heat is included in your rent. For renters with heat in the rent, it also depends on whether rent is above 30% of income ⁠⁸. Renters with heat included get a one-time check instead ⁠³.

DCEO’s approved FFY 2026 plan set heating benefits at a minimum of $58 and a maximum of $2,564 ⁠⁵. The draft FFY 2027 plan, posted for public comment, had not yet filled in its new benefit matrix ⁠⁴. If your vendor will not sign DCEO’s vendor agreement, the payment can come as a two-party check made out to you and the vendor ⁠⁴.

Reconnection and Furnace Assistance when heat is cut off or the furnace fails

Illinois’s winter crisis money has two parts ⁠⁴:

• Reconnection Assistance. This pays the minimum needed to restore service, or to prevent a shutoff scheduled within 7 days, for your primary heat source or a heat-related electric account. It also helps when a fuel dealer will not deliver and your tank is at 25% or less ⁠³⁠⁴. In the draft FFY 2027 plan, Reconnection Assistance can pay up to $2,000 per household per year, up from $1,500 in FFY 2026. You can come back during the year until you reach that cap ⁠⁴⁠⁵.
• Furnace Assistance. This is for homeowners who received a LIHEAP benefit this program year and have no working furnace or safe heat source. It covers a tune-up, repair or replacement and runs until late May 2027 or until the furnace allocation is used up ⁠⁴. Renters are excluded because landlords are legally responsible for heat ⁠⁴. Some LAAs run a voucher pilot where you choose from a list of pre-qualified HVAC contractors ⁠⁴.

Help must arrive within 48 hours of a complete application. It must arrive within 18 hours when the crisis is life-threatening: the temperature is 32°F or below, the household is not protected by Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) rules, and reconnection is the only remedy because the household has no other shelter or safe temporary heat, or someone is homebound ⁠⁴. Illinois runs no summer cooling program. The draft plan adds only a summer 2027 central-air repair pilot at a few LAAs ⁠³⁠⁴.

Monthly discounts that come with LIHEAP approval

Since October 2024, ICC-ordered Low Income Discount Rates have given a monthly gas bill credit of 5% to 83%. The credit depends on a five-tier income scale and the cost of service in your area ⁠¹². LIHEAP recipients are enrolled automatically but must reapply for LIHEAP every year to keep the discount. Customers at 201% to 300% of poverty who do not get LIHEAP can still get a 5% discount by reporting their income to the utility ⁠¹².

Source: Peoples Gas ⁠¹³. Nicor Gas lists a 5% to 77% range for its program ⁠¹⁴; Ameren Illinois gas sets its own tier percentages.

ComEd electric customers have had the discount since January 1, 2026 ⁠⁴⁠¹¹. Starting October 1, 2026, Ameren Illinois electric customers get the Electric Service Discount Program, which is designed so that the electric bill is no more than 3% of household income, or 6% for all-electric homes ⁠²⁠⁴. The older state Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP) stopped taking new applicants on October 1, 2025, while current members could recertify ⁠³. On October 20, 2026, Nicor Gas still listed PIPP applications as closed ⁠¹⁴.

IHWAP: weatherization at 200% of poverty

The Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program (IHWAP) is a separate service from the same network of agencies. Crews do air sealing, attic and wall insulation, heating system and water heater repair or replacement, lighting and refrigerator replacement, and ventilation and moisture work. DCEO’s limits are $20,000 per home for energy-related work and $4,000 for health and safety measures ⁠⁹.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Add $11,360 per person above 12. Source: DCEO ⁠⁹.

You also qualify if you received LIHEAP in the last 12 months, if a household member received SSI or TANF cash in the last 12 months, or if you are enrolled in a listed HUD or USDA program, such as public housing, a housing voucher or a Section 504 repair loan ⁠⁹. Apply through the ILogin pre-application or at your community action agency ⁠⁹. Applications are first-come, first-served. Each home gets priority points for older or disabled residents, children and high energy use, and lower-ranked homes wait until later in the year ⁠⁴. Renters need the landlord to sign an IHWAP rental agreement, including a promise not to raise the rent for at least 12 months after the work ⁠⁴.

Illinois shutoff rules from December 1 to March 31

Under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.135, a regulated gas or electric utility may not cut off a residential customer who heats with gas or electricity between December 1 and March 31 unless it has first offered a winter deferred payment arrangement. That arrangement must run at least four months and require no more than 10% down, and the customer must have refused it ⁠¹⁰. If your energy assistance has been approved, you can ask the utility to set that amount aside from the balance covered by the payment arrangement ⁠¹⁰. The ICC says LIHEAP and PIPP participants, electric-heat customers, and military members and veterans cannot be disconnected during this period. The rule does not cover theft, tampering or safety shutoffs ⁠¹¹. For a dispute with a utility, call the ICC Consumer Services Division at 1-800-524-0795 ⁠¹¹.

Appealing a LIHEAP or IHWAP decision in three steps

You can appeal if your application was not processed within about 30 days, if you were denied, or if you think the benefit amount is wrong ⁠⁸. Ask your LAA for an informal conference within 30 days. A staff member who was not involved in the decision must hold it within 15 calendar days. If you disagree with the result, file a written Request for State Review with DCEO within 30 days. After that, you can ask for a formal hearing under 56 Ill. Adm. Code 2605 ⁠⁴. LIHEAP never charges a fee. DCEO tells anyone offered a “LIHEAP grant” for a fee to call the HHS fraud hotline at 1-800-447-8477 ⁠⁷.

For other Illinois programs, see the Illinois assistance hub, or compare states on the energy and utility assistance page.