New Hampshire fuel and electric bill assistance: FAP, EAP and weatherization (2026-27)

Five Community Action Agencies, ten counties, one application

The Department of Energy does not take applications. Its plan names five local administering agencies and says each one keeps at least one full-time, year-round office in every county it serves ⁠⁴.

Source: NH Department of Energy, Community Action Agencies page ⁠³. CAPHR also has offices in Derry, Milford, Peterborough, Raymond, Salem, Seabrook and Hillsborough ⁠⁵.

One form covers three programs. New Hampshire uses a joint application for FAP, the Electric Assistance Program and the Weatherization Assistance Program, so eligibility for all three is decided at once ⁠⁴. You can qualify for one without receiving the others ⁠³. If you are homebound, ask about a home or phone interview or a mail-in application ⁠³.

The 60% of state median income test and how CAAs count your last 30 days

New Hampshire uses the federal ceiling of 60% of state median income (SMI), not 150% of poverty. The same limit applies to FAP, EAP and weatherization. The Department updated the figures on May 28, 2026, and for four people the limit is $93,680 a year ⁠². As a monthly figure, that is $7,807 ⁠⁶.

Other factors include a vulnerable household member and at least $100 in energy costs ⁠². Agencies start with gross income received in the 30 days before you apply. If that month puts you over the limit, CAPHR and Strafford County say they can instead average your year-to-date income or the last 365 days, but never further back ⁠⁵⁠⁶. Some income types are not counted or only partly counted ⁠⁵, and the plan counts cash gifts only if they have continued for six months or longer ⁠⁴. If the state raises the guidelines mid-season, an application already on file is re-checked automatically and you do not need to reapply ⁠⁶.

Renters qualify under these rules:

• Heat paid directly to a vendor: same rules as homeowners ⁠⁴.
• Heat included in rent, not subsidized: eligible, but for a lower benefit, which goes to the landlord ⁠⁴⁠⁵.
• Subsidized housing with heat included in rent: not eligible for FAP, but you may still get the EAP electric discount ⁠⁴⁠⁶.

What a 2026-27 benefit looks like: $188 to $2,500, paid to your vendor

FAP is a grant and does not have to be repaid ⁠¹. Benefit amounts depend on household income, energy costs, the heating degree days in your region and your housing type, so the lowest-income households with the highest heating costs get the most ⁠¹. Without your actual annual heating cost, the agency estimates it from dwelling type, rooms, degree days and fuel type ⁠⁴. The Department does not post the full benefit matrix on the pages reviewed for this guide.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

The 2025-26 range is from the Department of Energy and the FFY 2026 plan ⁠¹⁠⁴. The 2026-27 range is from CAPHR’s program page ⁠⁵.

The agency sends your whole season’s benefit to the vendor you name, within 45 days of enrollment at Strafford County’s agency. You then arrange deliveries with that vendor until the money runs out ⁠⁶. For electric or natural gas heat, bills from November 1 can be paid. For oil, kerosene, propane, wood or coal, deliveries from October 1 through April 30 count ⁠⁵. Payments continue until the benefit is used up or expires ⁠⁵. The Department of Energy must approve any payment made to you instead of a vendor. Examples are a landlord who refuses to participate or a wood seller outside the program ⁠⁴.

No-heat emergencies: the 48-hour and 18-hour fast track, December through April

New Hampshire keeps no separate crisis fund. Under its “Benefit Fast Track”, a household in crisis gets its regular benefit issued within the federal response times ⁠⁴. The crisis period runs from December 1 to April 30 ⁠⁴.

• Crisis (help within 48 hours): oil or kerosene at a quarter tank or less, propane at 20% or less, under a week of wood or pellets, a disconnect notice from a metered utility, or an eviction notice when heat is included in unsubsidized rent ⁠⁴.
• Life-threatening (help within 18 hours): out of fuel, already disconnected, evicted, or a broken or unsafe heating system with no adequate backup heat ⁠⁴.

The winter crisis maximum is the same as the regular maximum, $2,177 in FFY 2026 ⁠⁴. If you run out of fuel between December 1, 2026 and April 30, 2027, Strafford County’s agency asks you to call rather than email ⁠⁶. If the agency cannot help, Strafford County’s agency refers households to town or state welfare programs, churches and other community agencies ⁠⁶. The Department also lists two charity funds that are not state programs: Neighbor Helping Neighbor (Eversource, Liberty and Unitil customers) and Project Care (NHEC customers) ⁠³.

Applying for the 2026-27 season with your CAA

1. Find your agency

   Use the county table above or the Department of Energy’s Community Action Agencies page ⁠³. CAPHR mails an application packet to last year’s recipients. New applicants should call the nearest office for an appointment ⁠⁵.

2. Apply in your window

   From July 1, households can apply if a member is 60 or older, has a documented disability or is under age 6, or if the home heats with wood. All other households can apply from September 1 ⁠⁶.

3. Gather documents for everyone in the household

   Strafford County’s checklist asks for 30 days of gross income (5 stubs if paid weekly, 3 if biweekly, 2 if monthly), Social Security cards and dates of birth, recent decision letters for SNAP, TANF or town welfare, and a no/low income form for each adult with little or no income. Self-employed members need a signed tax return with Schedule C. Bring a mortgage statement or tax bill, or a landlord verification form if heat is in the rent, plus your latest fuel and electric bills ⁠⁶.

4. Name your vendor before you apply

   Your account with a fuel dealer must exist before the application date ⁠⁶.

5. Choose how to submit

   Strafford County takes applications at an in-person appointment, where no forms are needed in advance, or by mail on its 2027 form ⁠⁶. Ask about phone interviews if you cannot travel ⁠³.

6. Wait for your letter

   Processing can take up to 60 days. You will get an enrollment letter or a denial ⁠⁶. The plan requires written notice within 30 days of certification, naming the benefit and the vendor that will be paid ⁠⁴. If you were denied for missing papers, Strafford County lets you send them within 30 days. After that you must start over ⁠⁶.

7. Appeal if needed

   Within 30 days of the decision letter, ask your agency’s FAP Director for a review. The Director must meet with you within 10 days. Next, the Department of Energy’s FAP Administrator reviews it within 10 days, and after that you may request a Fair Administrative Hearing in writing. The Department must hold it within 20 business days and rule within 10 business days, and the agency holds the disputed benefit in reserve until then ⁠⁴. The 2026-27 application deadline is April 30, 2027 ⁠⁵.

Electric Assistance Program: a 5% to 86% discount through the same application

The Electric Assistance Program (EAP) is New Hampshire’s own discount, paid for by every electric customer through the system benefits charge on their bill ⁠⁷. You must get a bill from Eversource, Unitil, Liberty or the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative. The discount ranges from 5% to 86% depending on gross household income and household size, lasts 12 months and depends on available funds ⁠⁷. Eversource’s brochure, effective May 2025, says the discount applies to the first 750 kWh each month ⁠⁹. It also applies to the supply charge if you buy power from a competitive supplier ⁠⁸. For program year 2026-27, Eversource lists the same 60% SMI limits as FAP, from $4,059.42 a month for one person to $11,241.58 for ten ⁠⁸.

Weatherization and LIHEAP heating-system repairs

The Weatherization Assistance Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and HHS, and the CAAs deliver it locally ⁠¹⁰. The Department notes that its 2020 policy manual still says 200% of poverty, but that the limit has changed to 60% of SMI ⁠¹⁰. Once you are found income-eligible, you go on a waiting list. A certified auditor then tests the home, and approved measures are installed in order of savings. Typical high-priority measures are attic air sealing, attic and wall insulation, and basement or crawl space work ⁠¹⁰. Priority goes to high energy users, households with someone 60 or older, someone with a disability or a child 19 or younger, and, from October 1 to March 31, homes with broken heating equipment ⁠⁴.

LIHEAP weatherization money mainly pays to repair or replace the main heating system, including boilers, furnaces, oil tanks, wood stoves and chimney liners. It is capped at $20,000 per dwelling, and anything over $15,000 needs a Department waiver ⁠⁴. Renters need the landlord’s permission ⁠⁵.

New Hampshire’s November 15 to March 31 shutoff rules

The Department of Energy’s rules give extra protection to customers of regulated electric and gas utilities from November 15 through March 31 ⁠⁴. A utility cannot send a disconnection notice for a primary residence until the unpaid balance exceeds $450 for heating customers, $225 for electric non-heating customers or $125 for gas non-heating customers ⁠¹¹. During the winter period, a utility needs Department approval before disconnecting a customer known to be 65 or older, and it cannot shut anyone off for an unpaid deposit ⁠¹¹. It must also warn an adult in the home in person or by phone, 2 to 8 business days before the shutoff. If it cannot reach anyone, it needs Department approval, and the Department will not approve the shutoff when the customer has a financial hardship and has made good-faith payments ⁠¹³.

FAP or EAP enrollment counts as a financial hardship. With it, you can ask for a winter payment plan: either 12 monthly payments that spread your balance and projected bills, or 10% of the balance each month through the winter ⁠¹²⁠⁴. You have to show proof of hardship to the utility each year ⁠¹². Separately, a medical emergency certification from a licensed clinician protects your account from disconnection while you keep to a payment plan. It lasts 90 days to one year and can be renewed, and a phone call starts the protection if written certification follows within 15 days ⁠¹⁴. Compare other states on the energy and utility assistance hub.