Help With Your Electric Bill in Minnesota: Energy Assistance Program

The online application opens September 1 for the program year that runs October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027 (FFY27). Printable paper applications in English, Spanish, Hmong, Somali and Vietnamese return in September 2026. So the window is open right now. Caution: the state's apply-by-mail page still shows 'the deadline to apply for this program year is May 31, 2026' — that is the PREVIOUS year's deadline and has already passed; the equivalent FFY27 deadline is not yet published.

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.

Emergency grants of up to $600 on top of the regular benefit, for preventing a disconnection, getting reconnected after one, or paying for an emergency delivery of propane, heating oil or biofuel. Homeowners with a broken furnace or heating system may get repair or replacement help. There is no single crisis hotline: you call your LOCAL service provider to apply — find yours at https://mn.gov/commerce/energy/consumer-assistance/eap-providers/. Statewide energy information line: 800-657-3710.

Apply online at https://energy-assistance.web.commerce.state.mn.us/ (open from September 1), or on paper through your local service provider. Local providers are listed at https://mn.gov/commerce/energy/consumer-assistance/eap-providers/. How-to-apply page: https://mn.gov/commerce/energy/consumer-assistance/energy-assistance-program/apply.jsp

Initial benefits average about $500 per household and can reach $1,400. Paid straight to the utility or to the propane, fuel oil or wood supplier. Up to $600 more is available for emergencies.

Name, contact details and address; names and Social Security numbers (or Permanent Resident, I-94 or I-766 numbers) for everyone in the household; household income information and documents proving it; housing information; the names of the heat and electric companies and your account numbers; details of any emergency heating need.

Cold Weather Rule (Minn. Stat. 216B.097): electric and natural gas service to a residence cannot be shut off between October 1 and April 30 — but protection is not automatic. You must make and keep a payment plan agreed with your utility, and the utility must offer a plan reasonable for your finances. You can set up a CWR plan any time during the season. Renters are covered if the utility is the primary heat source and the account is in their name. Does NOT cover delivered fuels (oil, propane, wood); if your furnace runs on electricity, ask your electric company for CWR protection. Separately, the Hot Weather Rule blocks electric shutoff on any day the National Weather Service declares an excessive heat watch, heat advisory or excessive heat warning. PUC Consumer Affairs: 651-296-0406 or 1-800-657-3782, [email protected].

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

No second application is needed for the Weatherization Assistance Program — eligibility is read off the EAP application and eligible households are notified. The FFY27 LIHEAP model plan is published at mn.gov/commerce-stat/pdfs/eap-approved-ffy27_detailed-model-plan-liheap_10_01_2026.pdf.

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