Minnesota energy assistance: EAP heating grants, crisis help and weatherization (2026-27)

How Commerce and 28 local agencies split the work

Commerce writes the rules, runs the statewide online application and computes every benefit in its central eHEAT system ⁠³. Local service providers do the casework: they check income, contact your utility, handle emergencies and pay vendors ⁠³. The State Plan lists 28 local administering agencies, which are community action agencies, nonprofits, tribal governments and one county human services office ⁠³⁠⁶. Coverage follows county lines. Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County (952-930-3541) serves all of Hennepin County, including Minneapolis. The Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties (651-645-6470) serves St. Paul. Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency serves St. Louis County, with a Duluth line at 218-623-3011. Todd County Health and Human Services handles Todd County ⁠⁶.

The Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Leech Lake, Red Lake and White Earth tribal governments run EAP for their own reservations. Residents of Grand Portage, Lower Sioux, Mille Lacs, Prairie Island, Shakopee Mdewakanton and Upper Sioux apply through a neighboring community action agency ⁠⁶.

The 50% of state median income test, counted one month at a time

Federal law lets states set the LIHEAP limit as high as the greater of 150% of poverty or 60% of state median income ⁠³. Minnesota uses 50% of state median income for household sizes 1 to 18 ⁠³. That line sits well above the poverty-based one. For a family of four, the FFY2027 EAP limit is $73,969 a year, while 150% of the 2026 poverty guideline is $49,500 ⁠²⁠¹¹.

The annual figures are for reference. EAP counts the gross income your household received in the last full calendar month before you sign the application, and compares it with a one-month maximum ⁠⁴. If you sign in November 2026, you send October 2026 income. Commerce warns that a household can be over the limit for one month even if its yearly income is under the annual figure ⁠².

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: 2026-2027 Minnesota Energy Programs Application ⁠⁴ and EAP Policy Manual FFY27 ⁠².

Other eligibility rules:

• SSN or immigration documents. Everyone listed needs a Social Security number, or eligible non-citizens can provide immigration documents instead. Ineligible non-citizens are not counted as household members, but their income is counted ⁠³⁠⁴.
• Wages checked against state records. EAP may check reported wages with the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), so pay stubs are requested only if that match fails ⁠⁴.
• Renters. Renters qualify if they pay for heat or electricity, or if their rent includes heat and can rise with energy costs. Renters in subsidized housing whose rent is set by income and includes heat and electricity cannot get EAP ⁠³.
• Fixed incomes. Households whose only income is Social Security, SSI or a pension may get a shorter Recertification application with no new income proof ⁠².

How eHEAT sets a Primary Heat grant between $200 and $1,400

Your grant depends on your energy costs and your income. When you apply, your provider asks your utilities and fuel dealers for up to 12 months of usage. For FFY2027 that data must fall between June 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026 ⁠². eHEAT then divides your income by the limit for your household size and pays a larger share of costs to the lowest-income households ⁠². Commerce sets the exact percentages only after the federal award arrives, usually in October or November ⁠². If usage data is missing, or heat is included in your rent, eHEAT uses a “backup matrix” of last year’s average costs by fuel and housing type ⁠².

Every Primary Heat grant is at least $200 and at most $1,400 ⁠². Commerce says initial benefits average $500 per household ⁠¹. The money goes to your vendors, and part of it automatically goes to your electric company ⁠². A household with heat included in rent gets the grant paid first to its electric account, up to its annual electric cost or $400, whichever is greater. Any remainder is paid to the household directly ⁠³.

Crisis grants and furnace repair when the heat is off

EAP Crisis is extra money for an emergency your Primary Heat grant did not fix ⁠². The FFY2027 manual accepts eight crisis reasons: heat shut off, a heat disconnection notice, under 20% in your fuel tank and the dealer refuses to deliver, under 10 days of wood or other biofuel, non-heat electric shut off, an electric disconnection notice, under 10 days on a prepaid meter, or any past-due or current energy bill for a household with someone 60 or older ⁠².

Crisis pays up to $600 for a utility balance or a fuel delivery. Self-supplied biofuel and prepay meter emergencies get $300 per verified request, up to the same total ⁠²⁠⁵. Federal timelines apply: help within 18 hours if the home has no heat or no heat distribution, and within 48 hours otherwise ⁠². Providers must answer crisis calls 24 hours a day, every day, from October 1 through April 30 ⁠².

Energy Related Repair (ERR) is the crisis program for homeowners whose furnace or boiler does not work, does not distribute heat, or is unsafe, for example because it produces carbon monoxide ⁠³. Renters are excluded because landlords must keep rental units heated ⁠³. ERR has no set dollar cap per household. Commerce must approve jobs of $25,000 or more before work starts and any invoice over $10,000 before it is paid ⁠². While you wait, ERR can buy up to $300 in electric space heaters per household per year. With a waiver, it can pay for up to two nights in a hotel ⁠². ERR requests are accepted through July 1, 2027 ⁠³.

Applying for the 2026-27 season

1. Watch your mail first

   Commerce mails pre-filled applications to households found eligible last year, and sends fixed-income households first ⁠³. If one arrives, check it, sign it and return it.

2. Otherwise apply online or on paper

   Use the statewide online application, or print the 2026-2027 Minnesota Energy Programs Application in English, Spanish, Hmong, Somali, Russian or Vietnamese and mail it to your local provider ⁠¹. Your provider can also help by phone, and some will visit your home ⁠³.

3. Have account and ID details ready

   The form asks for every household member’s name and Social Security number or immigration document number, your housing details, and your heat and electric companies with account numbers ⁠⁷. The accounts must be in the name of a living household member ⁠².

4. Send last month’s income proof

   Send pay stubs, benefit award letters, MFIP or GA statements, Minnesota Paid Leave letters, or a 1040 with Schedule 1 if you are self-employed, all for the full month before you sign ⁠⁴. Send copies, because originals are not returned ⁠⁴.

5. Flag any emergency right away

   If service is off, a shutoff is scheduled, your tank is low or your furnace has failed, call your provider instead of waiting in the regular queue. Emergencies move to the front of the line ⁠³⁠⁴.

6. Expect a letter or email

   Applications are worked first come, first served ⁠³. From January 15, providers are expected to pay within 30 days of a complete application ⁠². The notice lists the amount paid to each vendor ⁠³. If you are denied for missing papers, you have until June 30 to finish the file ⁠².

Weatherization comes from the same form

The Weatherization Assistance Program, also run by Commerce through local providers, gives homeowners and renters free energy upgrades: an energy assessment, wall and attic insulation, air sealing, and furnace, boiler or water heater repair or replacement ⁠⁸. Commerce says the work can lower yearly energy costs by up to 30% ⁠⁸. You do not file a second application. Weatherization eligibility comes from your EAP application, and eligible households are notified ⁠⁵.

The income test is 200% of the poverty guidelines or the EAP limit, whichever is higher ⁠³. For a family of four in FFY2027, the EAP figure ($73,969) beats 200% of poverty ($66,000) ⁠²⁠¹¹. Providers serve priority households first: high energy use, high energy burden, members 60 or older, members with disabilities, and children under 19 ⁠³. Owner-occupied homes and rentals both qualify. A stand-alone repair job on a rental needs written proof that the owner cannot make the repair, and is capped at $3,000 ⁠³. Commerce publishes no statewide waiting time.

The Cold Weather Rule and utility affordability programs

From October 1 through April 30, Minnesota Statutes 216B.096 protects residential customers of regulated gas and electric utilities. If your household income is at or below 50% of state median income, the utility may not disconnect your heat, and must reconnect it, as long as you sign a payment agreement and pay on time. The utility cannot demand more than 10% of household income toward current and past heating bills ⁠⁹. Getting EAP counts as proof of eligibility, so the utility may not ask for other income documents ⁠⁹. Households above that income still have a right to a payment plan based on their circumstances ⁠⁹.

The rule also bars shutoffs on weekends, holidays and the day before a holiday, and on Fridays unless the utility reaches you in person ⁠⁹. Utilities must try to restore service within 24 hours of an accepted payment agreement. If you and the utility cannot agree, you can appeal to the Public Utilities Commission within 7 working days of a personally served notice or 10 working days of a mailed one. The commission decides within 20 working days, and service stays on while the appeal is pending ⁠⁹. Municipal utilities and electric cooperatives follow a separate complaint process under section 216B.097 ⁠⁹.

Separately, state law requires every public utility with low-income gas-heating customers to file an affordability program with the commission, and lets utilities use EAP data to enroll customers ⁠¹⁰. Commerce’s State Plan names Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy as offering affordability programs for EAP households ⁠³. Ask your gas utility about its program after EAP approves you.

Appealing an EAP decision in Minnesota

You have 30 days from receiving your notice to appeal a denial, a benefit amount, or an application that was not acted on in time. You can also appeal ERR work that was inadequate ⁠³. Appeals go through three levels: a local review with a written response, a state review by Commerce, and finally a hearing before an administrative law judge, who sends a recommendation to the Commerce commissioner ⁠³. Minnesota reported no fair hearings in the prior federal fiscal year ⁠³. If funds or the season run out, your provider can point you to other local help, and you can compare programs on the energy and utility assistance page.