Tennessee energy bill help: THDA's LIHEAP and weatherization (FFY 2027)

The October 2026 funding gap and how Tennessee’s waitlist works

Tennessee moved the program year start from November 1 (the FFY 2026 date) to October 1 for FFY 2027 ⁠⁴⁠³. Households with a member aged 60 or older, or with a verified disability, could pre-apply from August 17, 2026 ⁠³. On the day applications opened, the Metropolitan Action Commission in Nashville reported that THDA had not yet received the federal funds for the 2027 year. Applications were still accepted but waitlisted until the money arrived ⁠⁷. Until your agency says funds are flowing, call 2-1-1 for local charity help if a shutoff is near ⁠⁷.

Once funding arrives, agencies process applications in the order received until about 10% of their heating money is left, then switch to THDA’s priority order ⁠³. The order is: someone 60 or older, a verified disability, a child under five, active military or a veteran, then everyone else by energy burden ⁠³. A household still on the waitlist on September 30 must reapply when the next year opens on October 1 ⁠⁴.

How the energy-burden matrix sets a $300 to $800 benefit

Tennessee does not pay a flat amount. SmartSimple divides your past 12 months of energy costs by your household income to get your “energy burden” ⁠⁴. The system then reads one cell from THDA’s FFY 2027 matrix. The cell depends on household size, your income group (A to D) and one of nine burden bands, from under 5.1% up to 100% or more ⁠². Benefits now run from $300 to $800, up from $174 to $750 in the 2025-26 program ⁠²⁠¹.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: THDA Fiscal Year 2027 LIHEAP Benefit Matrix ⁠². One- and two-person households start at $300; households of six or more reach $800 at a burden of 12.15% ⁠².

Here is a worked example. A family of four with $30,000 in income (group C) that spent $3,300 on energy last year has an 11% burden, which falls in the 9.98% to 12.14% band. That cell pays $540 ⁠². You choose one utility to receive the payment ⁠⁴. Deposits, water, trash and optional service plans are left out of the burden; late and reconnection fees count ⁠⁴. If a credit from an earlier LIHEAP payment is still on your account, you cannot get a new benefit until that credit is used up ⁠⁴.

Who counts as income-eligible in Tennessee

The test is gross income at or below 60% of Tennessee’s state median income. Households of nine or more use 150% of the federal poverty guidelines instead ⁠³. The limit for one person is $32,861 a year, or $2,738 a month ⁠²⁠⁸. The agency annualizes income received in the 30 days before you apply. It counts wages, net self-employment income, Social Security, pensions, unemployment and child support received ⁠⁴. It does not count SNAP, tax refunds, loans, lump-sum inheritances, foster care payments or the earnings of a dependent student who is 18 or older ⁠⁴.

Every member except children under one must show proof of a Social Security number ⁠⁴. A household with a member who has no SSN can still be served: that person’s income counts, but they are left out of the household size. If someone has an SSN but refuses to provide it, the whole household is ineligible ⁠⁴. Adults reporting no income must file THDA’s zero-income form, and an application without it is denied ⁠⁴.

When a shutoff notice makes it a crisis application

Crisis Assistance is not a second payment. It is the same matrix benefit, paid faster ⁠⁴. To qualify for FFY 2027, you need two things ⁠³:

• An emergency: a shutoff notice, a disconnected utility, an eviction notice for an unpaid utility bill, or being out of or running low on delivered fuel.
• One added factor: a member who is 60 or older, disabled, five or younger, or active military or a veteran; or a wage earner with at least a year of steady work who lost a job or died in the past 12 months.

The agency must resolve the crisis within 48 hours, or 18 hours if someone depends on powered medical equipment ⁠³; the 2026 manual excludes weekends and holidays from the count ⁠⁴. Each agency must hold back crisis money until March 15, so crisis help stays available through the coldest months ⁠⁴. THDA’s FFY 2027 plan says that a broken furnace or air conditioner is never handled as a crisis. It goes to the new HVAC Repair and Replacement service instead, which runs year-round depending on eligibility, contractor availability and funding ⁠³.

Applying online through THDA SmartSimple, step by step

1. Find your county’s agency

   Use THDA’s contact list (below). The agency answers questions and can help you complete the online form ⁠¹⁠⁵.

2. Register on the SmartSimple portal

   Apply at thda.smartsimple.us with a valid email address. Status notices arrive by email, and an application without an email address is incomplete ⁠¹⁠⁴. If you cannot apply online, ask the agency for a paper copy, phone help or an office appointment as an accommodation ⁠³. In Hamilton County, you can also text LIHEAP to (423) 643-7300 to get the link ⁠¹⁵.

3. Upload ID and Social Security proof

   Upload the applicant’s government-issued photo ID and SSN proof for everyone in the home: the card, an SSA-1099 or another SSA document (a birth certificate for a baby under one) ⁠⁴⁠⁵.

4. Upload 30 days of income and 12 months of energy bills

   Include pay stubs or benefit letters for everyone 18 and older, plus 12 months of usage history for every heating or cooling source. Add the current bill or termination notice ⁠⁵. Use form LI-03 (zero income), LI-05 (landlord agreement, if energy is included in your rent), LI-06 (self-employment) or LI-11 (disability), whichever applies ⁠⁶.

5. Answer the crisis questions honestly

   The online form includes the crisis screening questions. If you meet both crisis conditions above, your file is handled on the crisis timeline ⁠⁴⁠³.

6. Watch your email

   Agencies must approve, deny or waitlist you within 30 business days. If documents are missing, you have 15 business days to send them before the file is denied ⁠⁴. Keep paying your bill while you wait ⁠⁸.

7. Appeal a denial in writing

   Use THDA’s Administrative Fair Hearing form (LI-13) within 30 calendar days of the denial ⁠⁶⁠⁴. The agency holds the hearing within 15 business days; if it upholds the denial, you have 30 days to ask THDA for a review, answered within 15 calendar days. Running out of funds is not grounds for a hearing ⁠⁴.

Find your county’s LIHEAP agency

Source: THDA LIHEAP agency contacts ⁠⁵.

Weatherization through THDA’s 12 agencies and TVA Home Uplift

Weatherization is a separate free service with a higher income line: 200% of the federal poverty guidelines ⁠¹⁰. At the 2026 guidelines, that is $66,000 for a family of four ⁠¹⁴. Households also qualify automatically if a member received SNAP, LIHEAP, SSI, Families First (TANF), WIC (for households of three or fewer) or a Housing Choice Voucher in the past 12 months ⁠¹⁰. A certified auditor picks the measures, typically air and duct sealing plus attic, wall and floor insulation ⁠⁹. THDA’s draft 2026 DOE plan funds 12 agencies to weatherize 353 homes, at an average of $8,668.59 each. Homes that have never been weatherized come first ⁠¹⁰.

The LIHEAP-funded portion also uses the 200% line. It has no per-home cap, though jobs over $10,000 need justification ⁠³. Applicants are ranked on points for older, disabled or young members and high energy burden, county by county ⁠³. You cannot apply for weatherization online. Call the agency on THDA’s locator map ⁠³⁠¹¹. In Nashville that agency is the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, at (615) 242-8452 ⁠¹¹. Southwest HRA now handles Shelby County ⁠³. Renters need a signed landlord agreement before any work starts ⁠¹⁰.

TVA’s EnergyRight Home Uplift provides an average of $10,000 in free upgrades, such as HVAC, insulation, appliances and electric water heaters ⁠¹³. You must be a customer of a local power company that offers it and live in a single-family home, or in a manufactured home built after 1976 on a permanent foundation. The home must not have had similar TVA-funded upgrades in the last 20 years. To check eligibility, call 1-888-986-7262 ⁠¹³.

Shutoff protection for Tennessee gas customers

Tennessee’s state utility rules include a medical protection for regulated gas service. A gas utility must wait 30 days before disconnecting a residential customer if a physician, public health officer or social service official certifies in writing that the shutoff would make a household member’s existing medical emergency worse ⁠¹². Notices must be mailed at least seven days ahead, and you can name a third party to get a copy ⁠¹². THDA’s energy pages list no statewide low-income utility discount rate ⁠¹⁠⁹. For electric shutoff notices, apply for LIHEAP crisis help at once.