Mississippi LIHEAP and weatherization help with energy bills (2026-27)

Mississippi measures income against state median income, not poverty

Mississippi uses 60% of state median income (SMI), not 150% of poverty, for heating, cooling and crisis help ⁠². That is more generous for small households: one person can earn up to $28,088, against $23,940 at 150% of poverty. For seven or more people the SMI line rises slowly, so a household of eight tops out at $74,541 ⁠².

Other eligibility rules:

• No categorical eligibility. SNAP, TANF, SSI or veterans’ benefits do not make a household automatically eligible, and everyone applies each year ⁠².
• Gross income for 30 days. The caseworker verifies gross income from the 30 days before you apply and annualizes it ⁠³. Wages, Social Security, SSI, pensions, unemployment, alimony and VA benefits count; TANF, child support and tax refunds do not ⁠².
• No asset test for heating, cooling or crisis help ⁠².
• Head of household 18 or older, a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, with an energy bill in their own or their spouse’s name ⁠³. If one member is undocumented, the others can still qualify; that person’s income counts but not their head count ⁠³.
• Renters qualify on the same terms as owners. If utilities are in your rent, the landlord completes a Landlord Verification Form; if it shows no amount, LIHEAP pays $100 per intake up to your matrix amount ⁠³.

The January 2026 Policy Manual carries an older matrix with a $51,424 limit for four; the figures here come from the 2027 matrix in the final FFY 2027 plan ⁠²⁠³. If an agency quotes the older number, ask which chart it uses.

Reading the 2027 LIHEAP Benefit Matrix

Mississippi does not pay a flat grant. It pays the actual bill, up to a ceiling set by your income band, household size and main heating fuel ⁠³. The bands step up in 25% slices of the 2026 poverty guideline, and the last band runs from 125% of poverty to the SMI limit ⁠².

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: 2027 LIHEAP Benefit Matrix, revision of October 6, 2026 ⁠². The matrix publishes a separate table for each household size from 1 to 20.

A home heated entirely by electricity uses only the “Total electric” column. Every other home gets its electric column plus the column for its main heating fuel ⁠³. A family of four in the lowest band that heats with propane can therefore receive up to $700 for electric plus $800 for propane, the full $1,500. The same family heating with natural gas can reach $1,400 ($700 plus $700), and a wood-heated home $1,100. Your main heating fuel is recorded once and changes only if you move ⁠³.

Propane is bought 100 gallons at a time per request; exchangeable cylinders are not covered ⁠³. Past-due amounts and late, transfer and reconnect fees can be paid, but only on the gas and electric lines of a combined city bill ⁠³. Equipment repair or replacement, fans, coats and blankets do not count toward the $1,500 ⁠²⁠³. Single-person households have a seventh band, from $23,941 to $28,088, with a $900 maximum ⁠².

When the Energy Crisis Intervention Program applies

ECIP covers a crisis that happened in the last 30 days ⁠³. A life-threatening crisis must be relieved within 18 hours of an approved application. That covers a fire or gas leak, someone on electrically powered life support or medical devices, domestic violence, or abuse or neglect of an older adult, a disabled person or a child ⁠². A household whose medical equipment is at risk of shutoff must be interviewed the same day ⁠³.

A non-life-threatening crisis (a disconnection or shutoff notice, a recent layoff or loss of benefits, a death or high medical bills, theft, or a child displaced over unpaid utilities) must be relieved within 48 hours ⁠². Relief can be fuel, a payment arrangement, a pledge to the utility or new equipment ⁠². ECIP money comes out of the same $1,500 yearly maximum; it is not an extra allowance ⁠².

After a declared disaster or a National Weather Service extreme-weather event, LIHEAP can pay for up to five hotel nights or one month’s rent plus deposit, transportation to shelter, reconnection fees and generators ⁠³. Agencies may not tell you that you need a disconnect notice before applying; regular assistance exists to prevent the crisis ⁠³.

The 17 community action agencies that take Mississippi applications

MDHS does not interview applicants. It funds these 17 agencies, each serving a set of counties ⁠²; branch phone numbers are on MDHS’s Contact Us page ⁠⁶.

Allocations total $29,010,536 and assume the federal award stays at the FFY 2026 level ⁠². Offices are from MDHS’s directory ⁠⁶.

An agency that runs out of money must still take your application. It denies it as “Grant Award Fully Expended,” which places you on a waiting list that gets first appointments when funds return ⁠³.

Applying through Access MS and your county agency

1. Submit the pre-application

   On the Mississippi Common Web Portal (Access MS), mark “Community Services”; the form goes to your county’s agency ⁠¹⁠¹⁰. Without a computer, the agency must take the pre-application by phone or at intake ⁠³. Statewide help is at 800-421-0762 ⁠¹.

2. Watch for the appointment notice

   It arrives by mail or email: within 30 business days for households with an elderly or disabled member or a child 5 or younger, 45 days for others ⁠¹. Verified emergencies get appointments within 18 or 48 hours ⁠³.

3. Gather documents

   Bring photo ID for each adult, Social Security numbers for everyone, 30 days of income proof, proof of address and your current energy bill in your or your spouse’s name ⁠¹. Propane customers also need a 12-month account printout and a 100-gallon price quote from the dealer ⁠³. If the bill is in your landlord’s name, bring the lease or a notarized landlord statement ⁠¹.

4. Go to the in-person interview

   Every applicant needs one; there is no phone application ⁠². If a disability keeps you at home, a caseworker can visit or you can authorize someone to apply for you ⁠³. Go even if papers are missing. Return anything requested within 10 calendar days, or the application can be denied ⁠².

5. Get the decision letter

   If approved, the agency pays the vendor and a credit shows on your next bill ⁠¹. Show the approval to your utility: a utility regulated by the Public Service Commission may not disconnect you for a delinquent balance once LIHEAP has approved paying it within 30 days and the utility has been told ⁠⁷.

6. Return for more help in the same year

   You do not file a second pre-application ⁠³. Older and disabled clients are seen in person once a year; later requests can be handled by phone ⁠².

Weatherization runs on a different income line and agency map

The Weatherization Assistance Program uses 200% of the 2026 poverty guidelines: $31,920 for one person, $43,280 for two, $54,640 for three and $66,000 for four ⁠⁴. Apply with the same Access MS pre-application; a coordinator inspects and tests the home before contractors start ⁠⁴. Work can include ceiling, wall and floor insulation, air sealing, heating duct improvements and furnace repair or replacement ⁠⁴. Owners need a deed; renters qualify if the landlord signs an agreement not to raise the rent for two years ⁠²⁠⁴.

The 2026 DOE plan (still marked Draft 2) covers July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 and funds only six agencies (LIFT, Multi-County CSA, Northeast Mississippi Community Services, Prairie Opportunity, South Central CAA and WWISCAA), which plan 147 homes in total ⁠⁵. The plan caps DOE spending at $8,813 per home, LIHEAP-funded work at $10,000, and readiness repairs that make a house safe to weatherize at $15,000 ⁠⁵. A home weatherized with federal money in the past 15 years cannot be done again ⁠⁵. Priority goes to older adults, people with disabilities, families with children and high energy users ⁠⁵.

Mississippi’s shutoff protections and the absence of a state discount

Mississippi has no statewide low-income utility rate; the Public Service Commission’s Ratepayers’ Bill of Rights lists shutoff protections only ⁠⁸. Under Service Rules 8.100 to 8.125, a regulated electric or gas utility must give at least five days’ written notice before a shutoff, and may not disconnect on a weekend or holiday unless it is open to take payment ⁠⁷. Also:

• Weather. No electric or gas shutoff for nonpayment if a freeze warning is in effect for your county at 8:00 a.m. on the scheduled day, and no electric shutoff during an Excessive Heat Warning ⁠⁷.
• Medical. A letter from a doctor licensed in Mississippi or a neighboring state, certifying that a shutoff would be life-threatening, stops disconnection for 60 days ⁠⁷.
• Mid-winter rule. From December through March, a customer in extreme financial difficulty can deliver a signed statement and the latest bill to the utility’s local office. The customer pays all bills issued before November 11, then 133% of the levelized monthly bill until caught up, clearing the balance by the next December 1 ⁠⁷.

Denied by your agency: two levels of appeal

First, file an agency-level appeal within 30 calendar days of the denial through MDHS’s Virtual ROMA site. The agency’s executive director and board chair have 15 days to schedule it and 15 more to decide ⁠². If still denied, send MDHS’s Programmatic Appeal Request form to [email protected] or fax 601-359-5047; hearings are usually by phone ⁠². A county running out of money cannot be appealed, and MDHS reported no LIHEAP fair hearings in the prior federal year ⁠².

See also the Mississippi assistance hub and the 50-state energy assistance comparison.