Maryland energy assistance: MEAP, EUSP, arrearage grants and weatherization (2026-27)

One OHEP application, four grants

Each grant pays a different bill, so many households get several:

• MEAP pays part of your heating cost once per program year, sent to whoever supplies your heat: utility gas, electricity, oil, kerosene, propane, wood or coal ⁠⁶. If heat is included in your rent, the landlord can accept the grant and lower your rent by the same amount ⁠⁵.
• EUSP pays part of your electric bill. It is usually split into 12 monthly credits, or paid as a lump sum on request or toward an overdue balance ⁠⁶.
• Electric and gas arrearage grants pay off past-due balances: up to $2,000 on an electric bill and up to $1,000 on a gas bill. You must owe at least $300, and you can get one only once every five years ⁠¹. The account must be in your name, and you must qualify for EUSP (electric) or MEAP (gas) ⁠⁶.
• The winter crisis benefit adds up to $600 from November 1 through March 31 when your regular grant cannot resolve a heating emergency ⁠⁵.

Renters, homeowners, sub-metered tenants and roomers can all apply, and no turn-off notice is needed ⁠⁹.

Maryland’s 200% income line and the 30-day test

For FY 2027, both MEAP and EUSP use 200% of the 2026 federal poverty level ⁠². OHEP does not look at your annual tax return. It totals the gross income everyone in the household received in the 30 days before the application date and compares it with the monthly column ⁠⁶:

Each additional person adds $947 a month. Source: FY27 OHEP Income Guidelines ⁠².

Households where a member receives SNAP, Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), SSI or a means-tested veterans benefit are categorically eligible ⁠⁶. Maryland’s eligibility system creates their energy application automatically, and the local office calls only if it needs utility details ⁠⁵. A categorically eligible household whose income is above 200% of poverty still qualifies, but at the lowest benefit level ⁠³.

Child support you pay, SNAP, earned income tax credits and a minor’s earnings are not counted ⁠⁵.

How the FY27 MEAP and EUSP matrices set your grant

Your MEAP grant depends on your income level (as a share of poverty), your heating fuel and where you live ⁠³. Level 6 is for subsidized housing, where rent already includes a utility allowance ⁠⁵.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Level 2 (26-50% of poverty) sits between Levels 1 and 3. Level 7 (categorically eligible, over 200%) gets $25 for any fuel. Source: FY27 MEAP Benefit Matrix ⁠³.

Garrett County’s matrix is about 10% higher for its longer winter ($770 instead of $700 for gas at Level 1), and Prince George’s County adds $72 at Levels 1 to 6 ⁠³.

EUSP is set by income level and annual electricity use in four bands: up to 4,000 kWh, 4,001 to 8,000, 8,001 to 12,000, and more than 12,000 ⁠⁴. On the matrix’s Electric row, grants run from $730 to $1,125 at Level 1, $585 to $900 at Level 4, and $470 to $730 at Level 5. Rows for other fuels are about half those amounts ⁠⁴.

Worked example (calculated from the matrices): a household of four with $2,700 of gross income in the last 30 days is at 98% of poverty, Level 3. If it heats with gas and used 9,000 kWh of electricity last year, it gets a $630 MEAP grant ⁠³ plus a $475 EUSP grant ⁠⁴. If it also owes $900 to the electric company, the arrearage grant can clear that balance ⁠¹.

Applying through your Local Home Energy Program Office

Maryland’s 20 Local Administering Agencies are local social services departments, community action agencies and county offices ⁠⁶, such as the Baltimore City Community Action Partnership (410-396-6406), the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (240-777-4450), the Prince George’s County Department of Social Services (301-909-6300) and the Garrett County Community Action Committee (301-334-9431) ⁠⁸.

1. Find your office

   Open OHEP’s Local Home Energy Program Office page and choose your county or Baltimore City. You apply where you live. An office that receives an application for another area must forward it ⁠⁶⁠⁸.

2. Choose how to apply

   Apply online through the Maryland Benefits portal, by phone, by mail, in a drop box, or in person. If you apply by phone, email or mail your documents afterward; clear photos are accepted ⁠¹⁠⁹.

3. Gather the documents

   You need a photo ID, proof of Maryland residency, Social Security cards for everyone including children, all gross household income for the last 30 days, your latest utility bill, and your heating fuel bill or receipt ⁠¹. Use form DHS-FIA-806 if someone has no income and DHS-FIA-809 if your landlord pays the heat ⁠¹.

4. Send everything at once

   If documents are missing, the office sends a Request for Additional Information. You then have 15 days to respond, or the application is denied ⁠⁶. OHEP says it reviews an application within 14 days after the complete packet arrives ⁠⁹. Offices must finish processing within 45 days ⁠⁶.

5. Flag a shutoff notice

   If you apply within 14 days of a termination notice, the office can put a 55-day hold on the electric account while it decides ⁠⁶.

6. Track your case

   Status appears at myohepstatus.org about 15 days after your office starts work on the file ⁠⁹. Benefits go straight to the supplier, and a benefit letter is mailed to you ⁠⁵.

7. Reapply every program year

   The program year runs July 1 to June 30, and you can receive each benefit once per year ⁠⁷. Households with a member 60 or older, a disability, or a Critical Medical Needs Program certification, whose income is only Social Security, SSI, SSDI or a pension, can get a short redetermination form instead ⁠⁶.

Winter crisis help from November 1 to March 31

OHEP treats it as a crisis when you have no heat, are running out of fuel, or face a utility shutoff within three days during the winter crisis period ⁠⁵. The federal deadline is 48 hours to resolve the crisis, or 18 hours if it is life-threatening: no fuel, service already disconnected, or a broken furnace or burner ⁠⁵. In a crisis, you only need to submit the signed application and a Crisis Season Declaration Form (DHS-FIA-805) to start the clock. Other documents can follow ⁠⁶.

The crisis benefit pays the gap between your regular MEAP grant and what it takes to restore heat, up to $600. OHEP pays it only if that amount fully fixes the problem. If you owe more, you must cover the rest yourself or through a partner such as the Fuel Fund of Maryland ⁠⁵⁠⁶. Outside winter, a shutoff notice gets expedited processing, not a crisis grant ⁠⁶. Households with a medically fragile member can apply through the Critical Medical Needs Program. Hospital-based navigators help with the application, and it gets priority processing ⁠⁶.

No federal cooling program: what covers Maryland summers

Maryland’s FFY 2027 LIHEAP plan budgets 75.8% of the grant for heating, 1.2% for winter crisis, 3% for weatherization and nothing for cooling ⁠⁵. Summer electric bills are eased by EUSP’s monthly credits ⁠⁶. For broken equipment, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) runs a repair-and-replacement program for heating, cooling and water heaters. Confusingly, DHCD also calls it the Maryland Energy Assistance Program. It uses the same 200% limit, puts homeowners first and runs a “no cool” priority season from March 1 to June 30 ⁠¹². Its 2025-26 money is used up, and only a waitlist is open. The next funding cycle opens November 1, 2026 (October 1 in Garrett County) ⁠¹².

DHCD weatherization and EmPOWER upgrades

OHEP refers you to DHCD for weatherization automatically unless you opt out on the application ⁠⁷. DHCD’s Weatherization Assistance Program uses 60% of state median income, a higher line than OHEP’s: $48,085 for one person and $92,470 for four (updated February 11, 2026) ⁠¹¹. Households that received SSI, TANF or MEAP in the last 12 months qualify automatically. Older adults, people with disabilities, families with children and high-energy-burden homes get priority ⁠¹¹. After an energy audit, local agencies install insulation, air sealing, hot water and lighting upgrades, furnace repairs and safety fixes for owners and renters ⁠¹¹.

The EmPOWER Maryland Limited Income Energy Efficiency Program offers similar free upgrades to customers of BGE, Delmarva Power, FirstEnergy, Pepco, SMECO or Washington Gas. Its income limits are higher still: $106,800 for four (updated July 14, 2026) ⁠¹³. Both programs share DHCD’s intake line, 1-855-583-8976 ⁠¹¹.

Shutoff rules and appeals in Maryland

The Utility Service Protection Program is open to anyone eligible for MEAP; you ask for it on the OHEP application. You agree to an equal monthly payment plan, and the utility cannot cut gas or electric service from November 1 to March 31 while you keep paying ⁠⁶⁠⁷. Any balance still owed at the end of the heating season comes due then ⁠⁶.

Public Service Commission rules add two protections. From November 1 to March 31, a utility must file a sworn affidavit before cutting service that says the shutoff will not threaten anyone’s life or health ⁠¹⁴. Service also cannot be cut when the 6 a.m. forecast is 32°F or colder during an extreme weather period ⁠¹⁴. A licensed physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant can certify a serious illness or life-support equipment. That delays a shutoff for up to 30 days, and you must then sign a payment agreement ⁠¹⁵.

If OHEP denies you, you can ask for a formal hearing within 30 days, held before an administrative law judge at the Office of Administrative Hearings. You can also try to settle the problem informally with the local office ⁠⁵. If your circumstances change, you can reapply after 30 days ⁠⁵. The state’s one-time FY26 EUSP Supplemental Grants were scheduled to run only through the end of September 2026 ⁠¹⁰. A state-funded Maryland Fuel Assistance program for immigrant families barred from federal aid has been announced, but its terms were not yet published ⁠¹⁰.

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