Michigan energy and utility bill assistance: SER, Home Heating Credit, MEAP (2026)

Three doors into Michigan’s LIHEAP money

Each part has its own agency, application and calendar:

• A past-due bill, shutoff notice, disconnection, low fuel tank or broken furnace: SER energy services through MDHHS, open all year ⁠⁴.
• A regular winter heating bill with no emergency: the Home Heating Credit, a Treasury claim on Form MI-1040CR-7 ⁠⁷.
• Ongoing trouble keeping up, or a balance SER will not fully cover: the Michigan Energy Assistance Program (MEAP), reached by calling 2-1-1 ⁠¹¹⁠¹³.

Weatherization, run by Community Action Agencies, cuts usage rather than paying bills ⁠¹⁴. MDHHS can also pay some TANF, SSI or SNAP households with no application through its Energy Direct data match with four major energy providers, when funding permits ⁠³.

SER energy services: the 150% line and the $600 and $900 caps

SER does not use a benefit matrix. MDHHS pays the amount needed to resolve the emergency, up to a cap set by fuel type, and the payment must keep service on for at least 30 days ⁠¹. To qualify, the combined monthly net income of everyone in the household during the 30-day countable income period must be at or below 150% of the poverty guidelines. Above that line the request is denied. Below it, there is no income copayment for energy services ⁠². Cash assets above $15,000 generally lead to denial ⁠².

Source: ERM 301 payment limits ⁠¹.

The household gets one heat payment and one non-heat electric payment between October 1 and September 30. A second application for the same service in that year is denied ⁠¹. Caps follow each person, including children, even after a move to another household ⁠¹. When a bill is larger than the cap, MDHHS pays only after you show the rest is paid, or after a MEAP grantee confirms in writing that it will cover the remainder or enroll you in a utility affordable payment plan ⁠¹⁠².

For deliverable fuel, the tank must be at or below 25% of capacity. MDHHS pays for a 30-day supply or the dealer’s minimum fill, based on the dealer’s quote ⁠¹. SER does not pay for repair or protection plans, separately billed air conditioning or electric vehicle charging, or accounts enrolled in the Winter Protection Plan from November 1 to March 31 ⁠¹.

Repair or replacement of a non-working furnace is the only energy-related home repair SER covers. It has a $4,000 lifetime limit per household, counting every such repair since 1978, and requires a state-licensed contractor ⁠⁵.

What MDHHS counts as an energy emergency

Under ERM 301, any one of these qualifies as an energy crisis: a past-due balance or shutoff notice on a household energy bill; a fuel tank at or below 25%, or above 25% but locked by the dealer; a stated need for deliverable or nontraditional fuel such as wood or corn; a prepaid account balance below $100; or a licensed contractor’s statement that the furnace is inoperable ⁠¹. MDHHS must provide some help within 48 hours of a crisis application, usually by having the utility hold the disconnection while eligibility is decided ⁠¹.

The 18-hour life-threatening standard is narrower. All four conditions must be true: the household is not protected by the Winter Protection Plan or another shutoff moratorium; gas or electric service is off, fuel has run out, or the furnace has failed; restoring service is medically necessary; and there is no temporary place to stay ⁠¹.

Applying for SER energy help through MI Bridges

1. Start on MI Bridges or at a county office

   Apply online through MI Bridges, or complete the DHS-1514 or the MDHHS-1171 with the MDHHS-1171-SER supplement ⁠¹. Paper applications can be mailed, faxed or hand-delivered to any MDHHS office, and MEAP grantees act as navigators who can help you file online ⁠³.

2. Have the bill in hand

   MDHHS needs the past-due or shutoff amount. Caseworkers can check DTE and Consumers Energy accounts online ⁠¹. For propane or fuel oil, get the dealer’s written quote for a 30-day supply or minimum fill ⁠¹. A landlord’s statement is not accepted when heat is included in rent ⁠¹.

3. Gather 30 days of income and proof of identity

   Bring pay stubs and benefit letters for everyone in the household; income verified for another MDHHS program can be reused ⁠¹. A state ID or birth certificate proves identity ⁠⁶.

4. Return the verification checklist within eight days

   Documents requested on a DHS-3503 SER Verification Checklist are due eight calendar days from the date it was generated; MI Bridges uploads count the day they are sent ⁠⁶.

5. Expect a decision within 10 business days

   That is the SER standard of promptness, counted from the day the signed application reaches the office ⁠⁶.

6. Read the DHS-1419 Decision Notice

   It lists anything you must pay before MDHHS releases its payment. Proof must arrive within the 30-day eligibility period, or you must reapply ⁠².

7. Call 2-1-1 after an approval

   An SER energy payment qualifies the household for MEAP self-sufficiency services ⁠¹⁠⁴.

The Home Heating Credit: Treasury’s LIHEAP heating benefit

The Home Heating Credit is Michigan’s basic LIHEAP heating benefit ⁠³. Homeowners and renters with a lease can claim it on Form MI-1040CR-7, attached to the MI-1040 or filed alone ⁠⁷. Claims are due September 30 each year; the tax year 2025 claim closed September 30, 2026 ⁠⁷. Treasury says the credit reopens during the 2027 income tax filing season ⁠⁹.

Source: Treasury Table A, tax year 2025 ⁠⁸. Prorate the allowance if you lived in the home less than 12 months.

The standard credit is the allowance minus 3.5% of total household resources. It is set so that a household at 110% of poverty receives $1 ⁠³. Households with high heating costs can use the alternate credit, which is based on actual heating bills ⁠³. For tax year 2024, Treasury prorated every credit to 52% to fit the federal funds, so the maximum was $1,274 ⁠³. A deaf, blind or disabled member or a qualified disabled veteran adds an exemption ⁠³. Renters whose heat is in the rent or in someone else’s name get 50% of the credit ⁠³.

Payment comes as a State of Michigan Energy Draft that can be used only for heating bills. The 2025 drafts are good until December 15, 2026 ⁠⁹. Credits for households on FIP or other MDHHS benefits go straight to the heat provider ⁠⁷.

MEAP and utility payment plans after the 2024 expansion

Public Act 170 of 2024 changed MEAP’s income test. From October 1, 2025, an eligible household has income at or below 60% of state median income, up from 150% of poverty, and its electric utility must not have opted out of the Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund surcharge ⁠¹⁰. MEAP must give priority to households with a child under 5, a person with a disability, someone 60 or older, or someone homeless in the past 12 months who needs energy help to secure housing ⁠¹⁰.

The MPSC sets the surcharge at $1.50 per meter per month starting with the September 2026 billing month ⁠¹¹. Its fiscal 2027 grant round offered about $93 million to grantee agencies ⁠¹². You cannot apply to the MPSC directly; call 2-1-1 or visit mi211.org to be connected with a MEAP grantee ⁠¹³.

MEAP grantees enroll households in utility affordable payment plans: Consumers Energy’s CARE, DTE Energy’s Low Income Self-Sufficiency Plan, SEMCO Energy’s Monthly Assistance Program, UPPCO’s EASE and Great Lakes Energy’s Pathways. While you are enrolled in one of these plans for a service, SER will not pay that service ⁠¹.

Winter Protection Plan: shutoff protection from November through March

The Winter Protection Plan covers customers of MPSC-regulated gas and electric utilities who are 65 or older, receive MDHHS cash assistance, food assistance or Medicaid, or have household income at or below 150% of poverty ⁠¹³. Low-income customers pay 7% of their estimated annual bill each month from November through March and cannot be shut off during that time. Seniors in the plan do not have to make set monthly payments ⁠¹³. Any balance owed must be paid in installments between April and November ⁠¹³. You enroll through your utility, not MDHHS ⁠¹³.

SER cannot pay a Winter Protection Plan account until the plan period ends on March 31 ⁠¹.

Weatherization through Michigan’s Community Action Agencies

The Weatherization Assistance Program is paid for by the U.S. Department of Energy and LIHEAP and run by MDHHS’s Bureau of Community Action and Economic Opportunity. Local weatherization operators at Community Action Agencies cover every county ⁠¹⁴. Free services follow a whole-home energy audit and can include air sealing, insulation, furnace or water heater tune-up or replacement, and refrigerator replacement; it is not a general repair program ⁠¹⁴.

MDHHS sets the income limit at 200% of the poverty guidelines. Households receiving MDHHS cash assistance or SSI qualify automatically ⁠⁴. LIHEAP-funded jobs use 60% of state median income for households of one to six people and 200% of poverty for larger households ⁠³. Agencies give priority points for children, older adults, people with disabilities, high energy use and energy costs above 15% of income ⁠³. Renters need a signed landlord agreement ⁠³. Use the MDHHS county map to find your operator ⁠¹⁵.

Appealing an SER denial or a Home Heating Credit adjustment

Every SER Decision Notice explains the right to an administrative hearing. You or your representative have 90 calendar days from the written notice to request one, and the request must reach the local office within that time ⁠³. From October 1, 2024 through July 6, 2025, 11 of 39 SER energy hearings reversed the original decision ⁠³. For the Home Heating Credit, disagree with an adjustment or denial in writing to Treasury. That leads to an informal conference, with further appeal to the Tax Tribunal or Court of Claims ⁠³⁠⁷.

For other programs in the state, see the Michigan assistance hub, Michigan cash assistance (FIP), or compare states on the energy and utility assistance page.