Help With Your Electric Bill in Colorado: LIHEAP

The 2026-27 LEAP season runs 1 November 2026 to 30 April 2027. The site states plainly: 'LEAP will begin to accept applications Nov. 1, 2026, when the season begins.' Closed right now (10 Sep 2026). Application download links only appear on 1 November. One benefit per household per season.

Dates move every year and most states stop taking applications when the money runs out, not on the closing date. Checked Sep 10, 2026 — confirm before you count on it.

Heating emergency line: 1-866-HEAT-HELP (1-866-432-8435). If your heat is about to be shut off or you are running out of propane, LEAP can expedite an application to about 10 days if you qualify. The same number works outside LEAP season for other help, for application status, and to request a paper form. Keep paying your bills while waiting for a decision; ask your utility for a payment agreement or budget billing.

From 1 Nov to 30 Apr: online at the Colorado PEAK site (peak.my.salesforce-sites.com); by phone; by mail or email to your county LEAP office (address list at the Google Sheet linked from the LEAP page); or pick up and drop off at your local county human services office. Request a paper application by calling 1-866-HEAT-HELP. No interview required. Most non-emergency applications processed in 10 to 25 days.

Colorado does not publish the benefit amounts on the page we read. It is paid to the utility, not to you, and depends on household size, income and fuel type.

Every question answered and the form signed; lawful presence documents for household members born outside the US; Social Security numbers and dates of birth for everyone in the household; proof of all monthly income (pay stubs, award letters, loans); receipts for self-employment expenses claimed; a copy of your most recent heating bill, or your most recent rent receipt if heat is in the rent. Send it to the CORRECT county LEAP office — wrong county is a common delay.

No blanket seasonal ban. Colorado PUC rules (4 CCR 723-3) require a utility to POSTPONE discontinuance to a residential customer on any day the National Weather Service local forecast issued between 6:00 and 9:00 a.m. predicts 32F or lower at any time in the next 24 hours, or during any period when crews would not be available to restore service. Colorado also requires utilities to offer payment arrangements and LEAP information before disconnecting heat in the Nov 1 to Apr 30 cold-weather period.

This comes from the Colorado utility commission, not from the energy assistance programme — they are different offices and only one of them publishes it.

Colorado is the clearest state in this batch: exact season dates, exact income table, one phone number for everything. Watch the calendar though — on 10 Sep 2026 the season has not opened and applications cannot be downloaded yet.

In most states the same office runs SNAP food benefits, and receiving one often makes the other automatic or faster. SNAP in Colorado →