South Dakota energy assistance: LIEAP, ECIP and weatherization (2026-27)

One office in Pierre decides every LIEAP case

Here, the state office determines eligibility for both heating and crisis assistance and sends the payments to gas, electric and bulk-fuel vendors itself ⁠². The four community action agencies in the program do not decide who qualifies. They only carry out furnace repairs and replacements, plus the separate DOE weatherization program ⁠².

Local help still exists: any of 30 local DSS offices will take an application and fax or scan it to Pierre in a crisis. Staff can come to the home of an applicant with a disability ⁠².

Many returning households never fill out a new form. DSS automatically approves households whose only income last year was Social Security, SSI, VA or railroad retirement. It applies the cost-of-living increase to last year’s income and mails an approval letter ⁠². It also matches last year’s LIEAP list against SNAP records and approves households whose information still checks out. Everyone else receives a pre-printed application to update ⁠². A household counts as categorically income eligible only if every person on the application receives SNAP ⁠².

Reading DSS’s three-month income chart

DSS does not test annual income. It adds up gross income received in the three full calendar months before the month you apply ⁠⁴. Apply in November and you prove August through October income ⁠³. Self-employed applicants use their most recent tax return instead ⁠⁴. There is no asset test ⁠².

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: DSS Energy and Weatherization Assistance page ⁠¹. DSS also posts LIEAP limits of $23,514 for 9 people and $24,431 for 10, and weatherization limits of $29,825 and $32,575.

As of October 20, 2026, DSS was still posting the chart labeled “2025-2026 Heating Season” ⁠¹. The draft FFY 2027 plan expresses the new limits as a share of state median income instead: 52.02% for one person, 53.94% for two, 55.13% for three, and 60% for four or more ⁠². DSS had not published those as dollar amounts. If your income is near the line, call 800-233-8503 and ask which chart applies to your application date ⁠³.

How Pierre sets your heating benefit: fuel, region and income

Under state rule, your benefit depends on income, household size, the type and average cost of your main heating fuel, your region of the state, and how much money the program has ⁠⁴. The FFY 2027 draft plan estimates a minimum of $668 and a maximum of $3,437 for the season ⁠². DSS assigns every county to one of four heating regions; the county lists are in ARSD 67:15:01:35 ⁠⁴.

The benefit is a credit against bills, not cash. For natural gas and electric heat, it covers unpaid charges from meter reads between October 1 and May 15. For propane and fuel oil, it covers fills between July 1 and April 30 ⁠³. It cannot pay for a shop or business, fill extra storage tanks, prepay fuel delivered after April 30, or reimburse a bill you already paid ⁠³. DSS pays the household directly only if you heat with wood or coal or if heat is included in your rent. That payment goes by direct deposit or onto an EPC card ⁠³. When heat is part of your rent, the payment can be up to 30% of your monthly rent ⁠⁴.

ECIP: disconnect notices, near-empty tanks and broken furnaces

The Energy Crisis Intervention Program is for LIEAP-eligible households in an emergency. From October 1 through March 31, that means any of the following: a disconnect notice or a disconnection, a supplier that refuses to deliver, a tank under 20% with the supplier demanding cash on delivery, a heating system that needs repair or replacement, or an eviction notice when heat is part of the rent ⁠². From April 1 through September 30, only electric disconnect notices or disconnections qualify ⁠². ECIP disconnect help is capped at $2,400 a year ⁠². DSS must approve the spending before you incur it ⁠⁴.

DSS commits to resolving a crisis within 48 hours, and within 18 hours if it is life-threatening ⁠². Life-threatening means no heat because the main fuel or the electricity is cut off or the furnace is not running, no backup heat source, and indoor temperatures at or expected below 50 degrees within 18 hours ⁠². For help, call 800-233-8503. Outside office hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central, Monday through Friday), leave a message with your name, number and the problem. You can also email the disconnect notice to [email protected] ⁠¹.

Furnace Repair/Replacement is the one part of ECIP that runs year-round, until its money runs out. It has no dollar maximum ⁠². The community action agency for your county does the work, and if a new furnace is not compatible with your existing air conditioner, crisis funds can replace that unit as well ⁠². Furnace help is the only component you cannot request through the online application ⁠².

Applying to the Office of Energy Assistance

1. Choose a form

   Use the online Low Income Energy Assistance Application on SD.gov ⁠⁵, or print form EA-297 ⁠³. Every household member 18 or older must sign the paper form ⁠¹.

2. List everyone in the home

   Include roommates and anyone staying temporarily, with Social Security numbers and dates of birth. Also list students and any child support someone in the home pays to another household ⁠³.

3. Gather three months of income proof

   Send pay stubs or employer statements, award letters for Social Security or VA benefits, and a complete tax return with all schedules if self-employed. DSS does not accept bank statements ⁠³.

4. Add your heating and electric details

   Send a current heating bill and electric statement. For propane or fuel oil, a fill ticket or supplier statement works. If heat is in your rent, send a landlord statement ⁠¹⁠³. If you don’t heat with electricity, the electric account section is still mandatory ⁠³.

5. Send your proof to Pierre

   Scan and email it to [email protected] or mail it to the Office of Energy Assistance, 700 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501 ⁠¹. Unsigned or incomplete applications are delayed ⁠³.

6. Wait for the mailed decision

   By rule, DSS has up to 60 days to decide ⁠⁴. If it needs more, you get a letter. Check status by calling 800-233-8503, option 1 ⁠¹.

7. Report moves within 10 days

   If you move, report it within 10 days or your case is closed. Expect that an approved home may be referred for an energy audit ⁠³.

8. Appeal within 60 days if needed

   If you are denied or disagree with the amount, request a fair hearing within 60 days of the notice from the DSS Office of Administrative Hearings, 700 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501-2291 ⁠³.

Tribal LIEAP in reservation counties

Six tribes run their own LIEAP programs. A Native American household living in one of these counties must apply to the tribe, and DSS will deny the application and refer it there ⁠⁴:

• Charles Mix: Yankton Sioux Tribe
• Todd, Tripp, Mellette and Gregory: Rosebud Sioux Tribe
• Jackson, Oglala Lakota and Bennett: Oglala Sioux Tribe
• Stanley and Lyman: Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
• Dewey and Ziebach: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
• Corson: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

DSS serves Native American households everywhere else ⁠⁴. No household can receive both state and tribal LIEAP in the same year ⁠³.

Weatherization through South Dakota’s four community action agencies

Weatherization is a separate, free program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and run by DSS through four community action agencies, each covering fixed counties ⁠¹. It does not pay bills. Depending on the energy evaluation, a crew may weather-strip doors and windows, seal cracks, insulate attics, walls and floors, and tune up, repair or replace a heating system that does not work ⁠¹. Federal rules set eligibility at 200% of the poverty guidelines, or a household member who received TANF or SSI in the past 12 months ⁠⁷. DSS’s posted 3-month limits are in the table above ⁠¹.

Priority goes to older adults, people with disabilities, families with children and single-family homes. Funding is limited, so you may be put on a waiting list ⁠¹. Renters qualify only with the landlord’s written permission, and the landlord must contribute to the cost ⁠¹. Send the weatherization application to the agency for your county, with a real estate tax notice if you own the home ⁠⁶:

• Inter-Lakes Community Action (Madison, 605-256-6518): Brookings, Clark, Codington, Deuel, Grant, Hamlin, Kingsbury, Lake, McCook, Miner, Minnehaha and Moody ⁠¹.
• Rural Office of Community Services (Wagner, 605-384-3883): Aurora, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo, Charles Mix, Clay, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Hanson, Hutchinson, Jerauld, Jones, Lincoln, Lyman, Mellette, Sanborn, Todd, Tripp, Turner, Yankton and Union ⁠¹.
• Grow South Dakota (Sisseton, 605-698-7654): Beadle, Brown, Campbell, Day, Edmunds, Faulk, Hand, Hughes, Hyde, McPherson, Marshall, Potter, Roberts, Spink, Stanley, Sully and Walworth ⁠¹.
• Western South Dakota Community Action (Rapid City, 605-348-1460): Bennett, Butte, Corson, Custer, Dewey, Fall River, Haakon, Harding, Jackson, Lawrence, Meade, Perkins, Oglala Lakota, Pennington and Ziebach ⁠¹.

PUC shutoff rules: the winter 30 days and medical postponement

South Dakota has no statewide low-income utility discount rate. In the LIEAP plan, DSS answered “no” when asked whether its utility vendors observe a shutoff moratorium ⁠². Gas and electric utilities covered by the Public Utilities Commission’s disconnection rules must still follow these steps ⁠⁸:

• Notice first. You get at least 20 days to pay, plus at least 10 more days of notice on an overdue bill. The notice must be in writing and explain your right to appeal. Before a customer’s first disconnection, the utility must also reach you by phone, a visit or a certificate of mailing ⁠⁸.
• Winter extension. From November 1 to March 31, a utility must add 30 more days before disconnecting residential service and tell you about the extra time ⁠⁸.
• Medical postponement. A certificate from a physician, or a notice from a public health or social services official, saying disconnection would worsen a medical emergency postpones it for 30 days. You get this once ⁠⁸.
• Timing limits. Disconnections cannot happen on Fridays, weekends, legal holidays or when the utility’s office is closed. Paying the past-due amount before the crew acts stops the shutoff ⁠⁸.

If a rural electric cooperative or city utility serves you, ask whether it follows these rules, and send any disconnect notice to the Office of Energy Assistance right away. For other help in the state, see the South Dakota hub or compare states on the energy and utility assistance page.