Wisconsin energy assistance: WHEAP, crisis help and weatherization (2026-27)

One Home Energy Plus application, three kinds of help

The HE+ Application covers both energy assistance and weatherization. Once a household is found eligible, that decision carries over to Crisis Assistance and HE+ Program Services for the rest of the program year, October 1 to September 30 ⁠³.

The application can produce:

• A regular heating benefit (LIHEAP). One payment per heating season, usually sent to your gas company, propane or fuel oil dealer, or wood vendor ⁠³.
• A regular electric benefit (Public Benefits). One payment toward non-heating electricity ⁠³.
• Crisis Assistance, HVAC or water heater work, and a weatherization referral. These follow from the same eligibility decision when a need arises ⁠³.

DEHCR states plainly that eligible households are not guaranteed a benefit. When a year’s money runs out, no further benefits are paid, even to people who qualify ⁠¹.

Wisconsin’s 60%-of-median income test

Wisconsin uses the higher federal option, 60% of state median income (SMI), for every LIHEAP component ⁠². For a family of four that means $76,661 under WHEAP versus $49,500 at 150% of the 2026 federal poverty guideline of $33,000 ⁠¹⁠¹³. The limits flatten above six people. A family of eight is capped at $105,792, only $4,599 more than a family of six ⁠¹.

How the agency counts income decides many cases:

• Last month’s gross pay, times 12. HE+ uses gross income from the month before you apply and annualizes it ⁠³. If your income has just dropped, the agency may use the current month instead ⁠³.
• Tax returns for some workers. Self-employed people, farmers and seasonal workers are assessed on the prior year’s federal tax forms ⁠⁵.
• Categorical eligibility. If every member received W-2 cash, FoodShare or SSI in the prior month, the household passes the income test, and its benefit is figured as if income were at the limit ⁠²⁠³.
• Assets can matter in a crisis. There is no formal asset test for Prevention Assistance, but agencies may offer other county resources first ⁠², and Crisis Assistance can be denied for “sufficient household assets” ⁠³.
• Renters with heat in the rent. Renters whose rent includes heat can apply, but the agency must record the landlord’s name, address and phone number. Tenants in Section 8 or other government-assisted housing whose rent covers heat and electricity are not eligible ⁠².

How the HE+ System sizes a WHEAP payment

The statewide HE+ System, not the local worker, calculates the amount from household income compared with SMI, household size, fuel type, number of rooms (up to nine), dwelling type and your reported energy costs ⁠³. Lower income and higher energy burden produce larger payments. DEHCR describes the weighting as a 4:1 ratio favoring high-burden households ⁠².

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

In FFY 2025 the heating benefit paid on average about 25% of a household’s annual heating bill ⁠¹¹.

Bring real usage. Without annual fuel costs, the system uses a proxy at 75% of the average for your fuel and building type, and actual costs are capped at twice the proxy ⁠³. Also check your electric company: a co-op or municipal utility may opt out of the Public Benefits fund and run its own Commitment to Community program, and its customers cannot get the Public Benefits electric benefit. They must ask that utility directly ⁠³.

Households living only on Social Security, pensions, dividends or veterans benefits can apply early, in September ⁠², and if nothing has changed may be renewed without a new form for up to two years in a row ⁠³.

Emergency vs. Prevention crisis help, and why cooling is rare

Under Wisconsin statute, the heating season runs October 1 through May 15. Applications processed May 16 through September 30 cannot receive a regular benefit, but they still establish eligibility for crisis help, repairs and weatherization ⁠³. There is one exception. If you contacted the agency by May 15 and could not get an appointment, the application can be backdated to May 15 when it is completed by June 15 ⁠³.

Crisis Assistance has two forms ⁠³:

• Emergency Crisis Assistance is for households with no heat or facing an imminent loss of essential home energy. It runs October 1 to May 15 only.
• Prevention Assistance is for energy costs you cannot cover even after the regular benefit. It is available all year.

To qualify for either, you need a direct account with a participating energy vendor, and you must have paid at least $25 on that account in the past 90 days. Help from a charity or another program can count toward that payment ⁠³. The agency must respond within 48 hours, or 18 hours when there is an urgent safety concern ⁠³. It weighs the expected low temperature, the home’s condition, vulnerable members and alternatives such as relocation ⁠². Responses include a guaranteed payment to the vendor, blankets, space heaters or temporary lodging ⁠²⁠³. Every agency publishes a 24-hour number for after-hours emergencies ⁠⁵.

Cooling is the gap. Wisconsin funds no cooling component. Agencies may pay for cooling only after a state or local public health official declares a heat emergency and DEHCR authorizes it ⁠³.

Furnaces and water heaters: HE+ Program Services

When the primary heating system, an air source heat pump, or a central air conditioner that affects the heating system stops working or becomes unsafe, the WHEAP agency verifies eligibility and refers the job to the local weatherization agency, which manages the contractor ⁠⁶. You must own the home or be an eligible renter ⁠⁷. Costs may not exceed $12,000 per HVAC job or $6,000 per water heater job ⁠⁷. During the heating season, an urgent no-heat case must be assessed within 24 hours of the referral and fixed within 72 hours of the assessment ⁠⁷. Work done under program rules never results in a lien or a charge to the household unless fraud is proven ⁠⁶. Water heater help is paid from Public Benefits, so you must live in a participating utility’s territory ⁠⁶.

Applying with your county or tribal WHEAP agency

Every county and six tribes have an approved WHEAP agency: a county human services department, community action agency, tribal government or other nonprofit ⁠³⁠¹¹.

1. Choose online or local

   Apply at energybenefit.wi.gov, or select your county or tribe on DEHCR’s assistance map to get the local agency’s phone number and address. You can also call 1-866-HEATWIS (432-8947) ⁠⁴. Agencies take applications by phone, by mail and in person as well as online ⁠³.

2. Gather Social Security numbers for everyone

   An online application can be validated only after correct SSNs are provided for all household members ⁠³.

3. Collect last month’s income proof

   Bring pay stubs, benefit letters and other proof for every member’s gross income in the month before you apply. Self-employed, farm and seasonal workers bring last year’s tax return ⁠⁵. Adults with no income complete a Zero Income Form ⁠³.

4. Have your energy accounts ready

   Bring your heating and electric account numbers and a year of costs. Without actual costs, the benefit is figured on a reduced proxy ⁠³. Renters also need the landlord’s contact details ⁠².

5. Sign the Certification Page within 30 days

   Missing items must be supplied within 30 days of the application date, or the application is denied as incomplete and you must reapply ⁠³.

6. Watch for the notice

   You are entitled to a payment or a written explanation within 45 days after your application is complete ⁠³.

7. Call right away in an emergency

   If you have no heat, a disconnection notice or a nearly empty tank, say so at first contact. That starts the 48- or 18-hour crisis clock ⁠³.

Weatherization through 16 regional providers

Weatherization uses the same 60% SMI limit ⁠². You do not apply separately: when your HE+ Application is approved, your address is referred to the weatherization provider, and the referral stays active for 12 months ⁠³. DEHCR lists 16 providers for 2026-27, from ADVOCAP (Fond du Lac, Green Lake and Winnebago counties) to North Central CAP, which serves 15 counties from Brown to Rusk ⁠¹⁰; together they cover all 72 counties ⁠¹¹. Providers rank homes by a Priority ID, which combines your WHEAP benefit amounts with federal priority categories (older adults, people with disabilities, young children). Tribal households that fit those categories go to the front ⁠⁹. The priority belongs to the dwelling, so if you move, you have to apply again at the new address ⁠⁹.

An energy auditor decides the work. Typical measures include attic, wall and floor insulation, air sealing, furnace repair or replacement, refrigerator testing and LED lighting ⁠⁴. A building whose earlier DOE- or LIHEAP-funded job was completed after July 1, 2011 does not qualify as a new weatherization job; for Public Benefits-funded work the cutoff is July 1, 2021 ⁠⁹. In rental buildings with two or more units where the owner pays the heat, the owner must cover at least 15% of the cost unless the owner is WHEAP-eligible ⁠⁹.

Disconnection rules and appealing a WHEAP decision

From November 1 to April 15, Wisconsin’s winter moratorium bars utilities from disconnecting residential heating service for nonpayment ⁠¹². The moratorium pauses shutoffs but does not erase the balance: customers without a payment arrangement can be disconnected once it ends ⁠¹². Utilities must offer a deferred payment agreement to residential customers who cannot pay in full, though municipal utilities need not offer one to tenants. If you cannot reach an agreement, call the PSC at 1-800-225-7729. The PSC also points behind-on-bills customers to WHEAP before the moratorium ends ⁠¹². DEHCR has also contracted with the Keep Wisconsin Warm Fuel Fund and Heat for Heroes, whose donations draw LIHEAP matching funds that local agencies can use for eligible households ⁠²⁠⁴.

The appeal has three steps ⁠³:

• Step 1: the local agency. Contact the agency within 15 days of receiving your notice, in writing or by phone. It must answer within 5 days.
• Step 2: DEHCR. Send the DEHCR Appeal Form or a letter to [email protected] or to DOA/DEHCR, Attn: Fair Hearing, PO Box 7970, Madison, WI 53707. DEHCR responds within 14 business days of receiving all documents.
• Step 3: the Division of Hearings and Appeals. Write to the Division of Hearings and Appeals, PO Box 7875, Madison, WI 53707-7875.

Wisconsin held 40 fair hearings in the prior federal fiscal year, and none reversed the original decision ⁠². More Wisconsin programs are listed on the Wisconsin hub, and other states’ limits are compared on the energy assistance page.