Help With Your Electric Bill in Connecticut: LIHEAP

OPEN NOW. DSS opened the 2026-2027 CEAP season on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 - both the online portal and in-person intake. The last day to apply to establish eligibility is May 31, 2027; mailed applications must be postmarked by that date. Households that heat with deliverable fuel and apply after that deadline may still submit paid fuel invoices for purchases made between November 2 and April 1. CEAP is an annual benefit, so you must apply again every year.

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.

DSS does not name a separate crisis program on the CEAP pages. Deliverable-fuel households must call their CAA to request an emergency delivery, and DSS says CEAP recipients may also qualify for payment-matching plans, shut-off protection and heating equipment repair or replacement. If you have a shut-off notice, call your local CAA (numbers in the How To Apply table, e.g. ACCESS Willimantic 860-450-7400, Alliance Bridgeport 203-366-8241) or 2-1-1.

Five ways, all through your local Community Action Agency: online at the CEAP portal linked from portal.ct.gov/dss/economic-security/winter-heating-assistance/energy-assistance---winter-heating/how-to-apply; by phone to your CAA; by email or mail with the signed paper CEAP application (English or Spanish); or in person by appointment or walk-in. Mailed, emailed and in-person applications MUST be signed or they are returned as invalid. The application takes 30-45 minutes.

$355-$705 for the 2026-2027 season, by household size, income and heating source. Paid directly to the utility or fuel vendor; households whose heat is included in rent get the payment themselves.

Most recent electric bill (every applicant, whatever the heat source); most recent gas or electric heating bill, or the name of your fuel vendor if you heat with oil, kerosene or propane; lease if utilities are included in rent; four consecutive weeks of pay stubs from the last three months, or an employer letter; Social Security award letter if income is Social Security; Social Security numbers for the household; and, if they apply, the Zero Income Form, Affidavit of Non-Receipt of Child Support, Certification of Disability or Self-Employment Worksheet.

Winter moratorium November 1 to May 1 for households registered as hardship cases with their gas or electric company - regulated by PURA, applied by the utility, and it must be renewed every year. Not automatic: you have to qualify for hardship status with the utility. Verified on secondary pages (211ct.org 'Winter Protection / Winter Moratorium' and eversource.com shut-off protection), not on a ct.gov page.

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

You have the right to a determination notice postmarked within 45 days. Contact the CAA for status after seven business days; do not resubmit.

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