Maine heating and utility bill assistance: HEAP, ECIP and weatherization (2026-27)

One HEAP application opens five Maine programs

The HEAP application is the entry point for almost every low-income energy program in the state. MaineHousing’s Community Action Agencies use it to screen you for heating assistance, the Energy Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP), the Central Heating Improvement Program (CHIP), weatherization, and your electric utility’s Low Income Assistance Plan (LIAP) ⁠¹⁠¹⁴. One income chart covers all of them ⁠².

Benefits go to the vendor, not to you. You choose a participating fuel dealer or utility, and the benefit appears as a credit on that account ⁠¹⁠³. When an agency certifies you before a delivery, MaineHousing pays the vendor within 10 business days of certification, or once grant funds are available if that is later ⁠³. MaineHousing says HEAP is meant to help with heating costs, not cover all of them ⁠¹⁴.

The 60% median income chart for 2026-27

Federal law lets states use 150% of the poverty guidelines or 60% of state median income, whichever is higher. Maine’s FFY 2027 plan uses 60% of state median income for every household size in heating, crisis and weatherization ⁠⁴. For a family of four, that is $73,213 a year, compared with $49,500 at 150% of the 2026 poverty guidelines. MaineHousing publishes the limits as monthly, three-month and annual figures. For a household of four, the monthly limit is $6,101 ⁠².

A few rules decide whether you fall under the line:

• Gross income of adults. Household income is the combined pre-tax income of members over 18. It includes wages, Social Security and SSI (counted before the Medicare deduction), unemployment, pensions, child support received and cash gifts ⁠³. SNAP benefits, tax refunds, foster care and adoption payments, student aid and the earnings of full-time high school students are excluded ⁠³.
• Medical expense deduction. If you are over the limit, paid medical expenses (as defined in IRS Publication 502) can be subtracted, but only enough to bring you under the limit ⁠³.
• SNAP or TANF shortcut. Adults listed on a Maine DHHS Notice of Decision for SNAP or TANF are income-eligible without separate proof. Other adults in the home still document their income ⁠³. SSI does not count as categorical eligibility in Maine ⁠⁴.
• Mixed-status households. The income of members who do not meet the citizenship or legal-status rules still counts toward the household total ⁠³.

How Maine’s point formula sets your heating benefit

Maine does not publish a flat benefit table. Under the Chapter 24 rule in effect since June 29, 2026, each eligible household gets 8 base points plus points for its circumstances. The total is multiplied by an income factor, and the result is multiplied by a dollar value per point ⁠³. MaineHousing must announce that dollar value within 15 calendar days after it receives the federal grant award ⁠³. The draft FFY 2027 plan lists the minimum and maximum benefits as “TBD” ⁠⁴. For comparison, the FFY 2026 plan estimated benefits from $88 to $1,012 ⁠⁵.

Source: 99-346 CMR ch. 24, §4(A) ⁠³.

The income multiplier is 1.8 at the lowest incomes (0 to 10.99% of poverty), then 1.6, 1.4, 1.2, 1.0 (101% to 125.99%), 0.9, 0.8, and 0.7 above 176% of poverty ⁠³. For example, an Aroostook County homeowner with an oil furnace and a member over 60 gets 8 + 3 + 6 + 4 + 5 = 26 points. At 110% of poverty those points stay at 26; at 30% of poverty they become 42 after rounding up ⁠³. Tenants in subsidized housing with heat included in the rent get only the amount needed to maximize their SNAP benefit ⁠³.

ECIP when the tank is low or a shutoff notice arrives

ECIP is MaineHousing’s crisis component. For 2026-27 it runs from November 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027, and you must have a HEAP application on file first ⁠¹. Under Chapter 24, a household is in an energy crisis if it has a quarter tank or less in a standard 275-gallon oil tank, 25% or less in a propane tank, a supply of seven days or less of another delivered fuel, or a utility disconnection notice tied to running the heating system ⁠³. You do not qualify if you have another safe, working heating system with fuel, or if heat is included in your rent. The exception is a shutoff notice affecting the heating system ⁠³.

ECIP can pay for fuel deliveries once your regular benefit is used up, plus delivery charges, reconnection fees and penalties on a final disconnect notice, heating system repairs and restart fees, and space heaters. If a life-threatening crisis cannot be fixed within 18 hours, it can also pay for temporary relocation ⁠³. Help must arrive within 48 hours of certification, or 18 hours when the home has no heat or no utility service to run the heating system ⁠³. The FFY 2027 draft plan caps crisis help at $500 per program year. Propane customers can split that $500 between two crisis requests ⁠⁴.

Applying through ECOS or your county’s Community Action Agency

1. Find your agency

   MaineHousing’s contact list assigns each county to one agency. For example, Avec Community Action serves Aroostook, Hancock and Washington; Penquis serves Penobscot, Piscataquis and Knox; and The Opportunity Alliance serves Cumberland County ⁠⁶. Portland residents can choose ProsperityME instead ⁠⁶. The zip code search on the HEAP page gives the same answer ⁠¹.

2. Choose online or an appointment

   You can apply online through MaineHousing’s ECOS system, or call the agency to apply by phone or book an in-person appointment ⁠¹. In the first 90 days of intake, agencies try to serve returning households first if they pay their own heating costs and include someone 60 or older, someone with a disability, or a child 6 or younger ⁠³.

3. Collect documents for everyone in the home

   You need names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and proof of citizenship (MaineHousing provides a Citizenship Attestation form). You also need proof of gross income, such as pay stubs, W-2s, 1099s, a 1040, profit-and-loss statements, unemployment records or a government eligibility letter ⁠¹. Self-employed applicants use MaineHousing’s Self Employment Worksheet ⁠¹.

4. Bring full energy bills

   Include recent complete utility and fuel bills showing usage, and know your heating fuel type ⁠¹. MaineHousing says an application missing any requested document will be denied ⁠¹.

5. Sign and return the application

   If an agency takes your application by interview, you must return the signed application within 30 business days or it is voided ⁠³. A denial for missing information is reversed if you supply the document at any point in the same program year ⁠³.

6. Watch for the decision

   The agency must approve or deny within 30 business days of receiving your signed application. Denials must be mailed within 3 business days, and approval notices state the benefit amount and the vendor that was paid ⁠³.

7. Ask for review if you disagree

   Send a written request for an Informal Review to MaineHousing at 26 Edison Drive, Augusta, ME 04330, or to [email protected]. The deadline is 30 days from the postmark on the notice, or 90 days after applying if you have heard nothing. A Fair Hearing is available after that for denials, delays or disputes about how your benefit was calculated ⁠³.

CHIP and weatherization: repairs Maine pays for, not bills

CHIP repairs or replaces central heating systems and gives priority to households with no heat ⁠⁸. It also pays for oil, gas or solid-fuel system cleaning, tuning and evaluation ⁠³. Owner-occupied single-family homes have a lifetime cap of $10,000. Single-family rentals with an eligible tenant are capped at $600, and multi-family rentals at the lesser of $600 per heating system or $2,400 ⁠³. For replacements, you contribute toward the cost if household assets exceed $5,000, or $50,000 when a member is 60 or older ⁠³⁠⁴.

The Weatherization Program starts with a free energy assessment. It can then add air sealing, attic, wall and basement insulation, heating efficiency upgrades, ventilation and some appliance replacements, all at no cost ⁠⁷. Homeowners, renters (with the landlord’s approval) and owners of 2- to 4-unit buildings can qualify, and eligibility usually follows from HEAP ⁠⁷. Federal Department of Energy rules allow weatherization up to 200% of poverty ⁠¹³. Maine’s HEAP chart is higher than 200% of poverty for households of one to six people, and MaineHousing says some households qualify under weatherization income guidelines alone ⁠²⁠⁷. MaineHousing publishes no statewide wait time; timing depends on local waiting lists and funding ⁠⁷.

Maine’s electric bill credit, arrears forgiveness and winter rule

LIAP. Your electric utility’s Low Income Assistance Plan gives a credit on the electric bill. You need to be HEAP-eligible, have the electric account in a household member’s name, and not live in subsidized housing that caps total housing costs at a share of income ⁠⁹. State law now limits utility low-income aid to households eligible for HEAP or a DHHS means-tested program with income no higher than 150% of poverty ⁠¹⁰. So a household above 150% of poverty can still qualify for HEAP heating help but not for LIAP. Apply at your HEAP appointment ⁠⁹. MaineHousing does not publish credit amounts, which depend on your utility.

Arrearage Management Program. Maine law requires investor-owned electric utilities to run an AMP until September 30, 2028 ⁠¹⁰. At Versant Power, you qualify if you are HEAP- or LIAP-eligible and owe $500 or more that is at least 90 days past due. Each on-time payment earns a credit of one-twelfth of the enrollment balance, up to $500 a month and $6,000 in total ⁠¹². Missing more than two payments in the 12 months removes you from the program for six years ⁠¹².

Winter disconnection period. From November 15 to April 15, a utility may not schedule a residential disconnection without prior permission from the Public Utilities Commission’s Consumer Assistance and Safety Division. Any notice it sends must say so ⁠¹¹. That notice still counts as a disconnection notice when you apply for fuel assistance or town General Assistance ⁠¹¹. Report suspected HEAP errors or abuse to MaineHousing at 1-800-452-4668 ⁠¹.

For other help in the state, see the Maine assistance hub or compare states on the energy and utility assistance page.