Help With Your Electric Bill in Mississippi: LIHEAP

Year-round. The MDHS LIHEAP Policy Manual states: 'LIHEAP is available year-round based on availability of funds.' No opening or closing date is published; the program stops when money runs out. ECIP crisis help is also year-round.

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.

Energy Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP), open all year, for a crisis in the last 30 days. Life-threatening crises must be resolved within 18 hours of an approved application and are interviewed the same day; non-life-threatening within 48 hours. Apply through your local Community Action Agency; MDHS Division of Community Services 1-800-421-0762.

Submit a pre-application on the Common Web Portal at https://access.ms.gov, then your local Community Action Agency calls you to set an appointment and complete the full application. Program page: https://www.mdhs.ms.gov/community/liheap/

Household income at or below 60% of the Mississippi state median income for the household size, an energy bill owed to a utility or landlord, and U.S. citizenship or legal permanent residence.

Up to $1,500 per household per program year, set by a benefit matrix that varies by household size and fuel type. Paid directly to the energy provider as a credit on your next bill.

Copies of energy bills (in the head of household's or spouse's name), proof of income (pay stubs within 30 days, W-2, 1099, tax forms, Social Security/SSI/disability award letters, unemployment determination), proof of residence (utility bill, lease or deed). If the bill is in the landlord's name, a notarized landlord statement or a lease saying you pay it.

Mid-Winter Rule: from January through March a residential customer who cannot pay the full bill can avoid disconnection by telling the utility before the cut-off and agreeing to an extended payment plan; the federal LIHEAP Clearinghouse lists the protected period as Dec 1 - Mar 31. There is also a Summer Rule: no disconnection for nonpayment on a day when, as of 8 a.m., the National Weather Service has an Excessive Heat Warning for your county. Taken from the federal LIHEAP Clearinghouse table, not from psc.ms.gov, whose bill-assistance page publishes no moratorium - confirm with the Mississippi PSC.

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

Priority goes to vulnerable households: elderly, disabled, or with a child aged 5 or under. Offered in all 82 counties, funds permitting. There is a wait: the CAA contacts you after the pre-application, so do not rely on it the day of a shut-off - call the CAA directly.

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