Pennsylvania LIHEAP, crisis grants and weatherization: 2026-2027 guide

Why your County Assistance Office, not a community action agency, decides LIHEAP

In Pennsylvania, DHS staff in your county’s County Assistance Office (CAO) decide Cash and Crisis eligibility, not community action agencies. There is at least one office in every county, and larger counties have more ⁠⁵. Allegheny County has a separate LIHEAP office in Pittsburgh (412-562-0330) ⁠⁶. DCED’s network of local weatherization agencies enters the picture only for repairs and weatherization. Even then, the CAO decides eligibility and makes the referral ⁠³.

The income test is gross household income at or below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines. DHS updates the limits each February, so the figures in effect since February 1, 2026 apply when the 2026-2027 season opens ⁠²⁠³. You choose which period DHS uses to count income: the calendar month before you apply, or the past 12 months. Either is converted to a yearly figure ⁠³⁠⁴. Pennsylvania does not grant automatic eligibility to SNAP, TANF, SSI or Medicaid households. If you already receive DHS benefits, you can ask DHS to use the income it has on file ⁠³.

Renters qualify, including people whose heat is an undesignated part of the rent. The exception is a renter whose rent includes heat and is set as a fixed percentage of income, as in most subsidized housing. That household has no heating cost of its own and cannot get a Cash grant ⁠³. You do not need an unpaid heating bill to apply ⁠¹.

How DHS turns income, fuel and heating region into a $200 to $1,000 grant

The Cash grant depends on household size, income, fuel type and which of Pennsylvania’s five heating regions you live in. Region 1 covers northern tier counties such as Bradford, Potter and Wayne. Region 5 covers Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Lancaster, Cumberland and York counties ⁠³. For working households, DHS subtracts 20% from gross wages before it looks up the benefit amount ⁠³.

DHS publishes the full payment matrix as an online table by county and fuel ⁠⁴. The examples below are from the table DHS had online on October 20, 2026, for a household of four.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

The table does not state a season, and DHS says it can change each year ⁠³. In these four examples, a family of four with countable income of $16,000 or more gets the $200 minimum ⁠⁴.

Families near the income limit should expect $200. DHS may also send supplemental payments during the year if money is left. These can go to all Cash or Crisis recipients, or only to households with a member who is 60 or older, has a disability, or is 5 or younger ⁠³.

Crisis grants and the February 1 termination-notice rule

A Crisis grant is separate from the Cash grant, and you can get one whether or not you applied for Cash ⁠³. You qualify if you are without heat or in imminent danger of losing it. That includes broken heating equipment, being out of fuel or having less than a 15-day supply, a shutoff of your main or secondary heat source, or a pending termination ⁠¹. The grant pays what it takes to resolve the emergency, from $25 up to a season total of $1,000. More than one Crisis grant is allowed within that total ⁠³. For delivered fuel, the payment is meant to fill the tank as far as the funds allow, and it can cover off-hours delivery charges ⁠³. DHS says eligible applicants get help within 10 business days, or sooner in a life-threatening situation ⁠¹. The federal plan sets 48 hours, or 18 when life is at risk ⁠⁵.

From December 1 through March 31, a utility regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) cannot shut off heat without the PUC’s approval. A shutoff notice alone during those months does not qualify for Crisis unless the PUC has granted permission ⁠³. For the 2026-2027 season, DHS will accept termination notices from regulated utilities as proof of crisis starting February 1, 2027 ⁠³. When a Crisis grant is paid during the moratorium, the utility must keep service on for 30 days after the crisis is resolved or until May 1, whichever is later ⁠³.

If you already got a Cash grant this season, call your CAO to report a heating emergency; otherwise you must file a LIHEAP application ⁠¹. DHS says heating crisis help is available 24 hours a day, and in most counties the CAO is the place to call ⁠¹.

When the furnace fails: DCED’s LIHEAP Emergency Services

When the emergency is a broken heating system rather than an empty tank or a shutoff, the CAO refers the case to the local weatherization agency under the LIHEAP Emergency Services Program, formerly called Crisis Interface ⁠³. The work can include repairing or replacing the heating system (including built-in central air), repairing fuel lines, thawing pipes and fixing broken windows. The agency must address the emergency within 48 hours, or 18 hours when it is life-threatening ⁠³. The income limit is the same 150% used for Crisis ⁠⁵. In FY 2025, DCED completed 7,011 Emergency Services jobs ⁠³.

The off-season Clean and Tune program was not offered in the 2026 program year, and an Emergency Services Cooling Program runs only when funding allows ⁠³. DCED states that no program supplies window air conditioners because of the weather ⁠⁹.

Applying for the 2026-2027 season, step by step

1. Watch for the pre-season mailing

   DHS mails applications to households that received LIHEAP in 2025-2026. Past COMPASS applicants get a postcard telling them to apply online ⁠³.

2. Check your income against the limit

   Total the gross income of everyone in the home, including relatives who rent a room, and compare it with the 150% chart. Decide whether last month or the last 12 months gives the better figure ⁠¹⁠³.

3. Gather documents

   You need proof of income for each household member and a fuel bill or receipt for your main heat source issued within two months before you apply. The CAO can also confirm your heating responsibility with your vendor ⁠³. If you report little or no income, you must show how the household covers its bills ⁠³.

4. Apply from November 2, 2026

   Apply online through COMPASS, or mail or drop off a paper application at your CAO ⁠⁵⁠⁶. Homebound applicants can ask for a mailed application or for help through agencies that make home visits ⁠³.

5. Flag any emergency at once

   If heat is off, fuel is low or a shutoff is pending, say so and supply the notice or proof. That moves the request into the Crisis track ⁠¹⁠³.

6. Track the decision

   DHS must send a written decision within 30 days of your application, with the benefit amount and payee if approved ⁠³. Check status at trackmybenefits.pa.gov or call the LIHEAP hotline at 1-866-857-7095 ⁠¹.

7. Reapply each year

   Every season needs a new application ⁠¹. The grant is paid to your vendor and never has to be repaid ⁠¹.

Free weatherization through DCED’s local agencies

The Weatherization Assistance Program is not seasonal. DCED receives U.S. Department of Energy funds plus its 15% share of LIHEAP and passes them to local agencies, which take the applications ⁠³⁠⁹. DCED’s agency list names one provider for each of the 67 counties. Some agencies serve several counties: the Community Action Agency of Delaware County also covers Chester, Cumberland and Dauphin, and Philadelphia is served by the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation ⁠¹⁰.

The income limit is 200% of poverty, effective January 13, 2026: $31,920 for one person and $66,000 for four. Households automatically qualify if a member receives SSI, TANF or LIHEAP, or qualifies for certain HUD or USDA means-tested programs ⁠⁸. An energy audit decides the work, which can include air sealing, insulation, and repair or replacement of the heating system ⁠⁷. Spending averages $8,547 per home ⁠⁷. The service is free. A home can be weatherized only once every 15 years. Wait times vary by agency ⁠⁹. Older adults, people with disabilities, families with children and high energy users go first ⁠⁷.

Utility CAP discounts and the 250% winter shutoff protection

Pennsylvania’s regulated electric and gas utilities run universal service programs under plans approved by the PUC. The main one is the Customer Assistance Program (CAP), a discounted bill for customers at or below 150% of poverty ⁠¹². The PUC’s guidelines cap what a CAP customer should generally pay, as a share of income:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: 52 Pa. Code § 69.265 ⁠¹². Each utility sets its own payment method and minimum payment in its PUC-approved plan.

CAP customers are exempt from late fees, and the utility must accept income proof for the last 30 days or 12 months, whichever helps you more ⁠¹². If you are denied, you can dispute it with the utility and then appeal to the PUC’s Bureau of Consumer Services ⁠¹². Utilities also run Low Income Usage Reduction Programs (LIURP) for customers at or below 150% of poverty, and some serve “special needs” customers up to 200% ⁠¹³. DHS shares LIHEAP enrollee data with utilities that sign an agreement so recipients can be enrolled in these programs ⁠³.

The state’s main shutoff protection is a rule, not a grant. From December 1 through March 31, an electric or natural gas distribution utility may not terminate service to a household at or below 250% of poverty unless the PUC authorizes it ⁠¹¹. Accounts in a landlord’s name are also protected in those months ⁠¹¹. A city-run gas utility may terminate households between 150% and 250% of poverty after January 1 if they have not paid half their bills, unless someone is 65 or older or 12 or younger, or another exception applies ⁠¹¹.

Appealing a LIHEAP decision to the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals

You have 30 days from the date of a written CAO notice to appeal. You can sign the appeal section of the notice, send a written or faxed request, or tell the CAO and follow up in writing within 3 days ⁠⁵. The CAO will offer a prehearing conference, and an administrative law judge of DHS’s Bureau of Hearings and Appeals decides the case ⁠⁵. Of 6,056 LIHEAP fair hearings in the year before the 2026 plan, 5 reversed the original decision ⁠⁵. There is no right to a hearing if the program closes for lack of funds before your benefit is authorized, or if you apply after the season closes ⁠³. Apply early in the season.

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