Help With Your Electric Bill in New York: HEAP

Not open right now. OTDA says the Regular benefit application period 'normally begins in early to mid-November and continues into the winter until funding runs out'. Last season: Regular HEAP opened in November 2025 and closed April 10, 2026; Emergency HEAP closed April 24, 2026; Heating Equipment Repair and Replacement closed April 10, 2026. No 2026-2027 opening date published as of 10 Sep 2026.

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 HEAP Benefit. Qualifies if your electric or natural gas heat is off or scheduled to be shut off, if the electricity your heating system or thermostat needs is off or scheduled to be shut off, or if you are out of fuel / below a quarter tank of oil, kerosene or propane / under a 10-day supply of wood, pellets or corn. Also requires resources under $2,500 ($3,750 if a member is 60+ or under 6) and the bill in your name. Amounts: $185 heat-related electric, $400 natural gas heat, $585 gas or electric heat combined with heat-related electric, $900 oil/kerosene/propane, $635 wood/pellets/coal/corn. You must contact your HEAP Local District Contact directly - it cannot be done through the website. OTDA hotline 1-800-342-3009.

Online: myBenefits.ny.gov outside New York City, access.nyc.gov inside the city. In person at your HEAP Local District Contact (https://otda.ny.gov/programs/heap/contacts/). By mail to your local district, or, in NYC, HRA/HEAP, PO Box 1401, Church Street Station, New York, NY 10008. Program page: https://otda.ny.gov/programs/heap/

Regular benefit: $900 + add-ons for oil, kerosene or propane paid directly to the vendor; $635 + add-ons for wood, pellets, coal or corn; $45 or $50 if heat is included in rent; $21 in subsidized housing or a group home with heat included. Add-ons: +$61 for Tier 1 income, +$35 if someone is 60 or older, under 6, or permanently disabled. Heating equipment repair up to $4,000, replacement up to $8,000.

Proof of residency (lease, rent receipt, water/sewer/tax bill, deed, mortgage receipt, homeowner's insurance or a utility bill), your most recent heating and electric bills, proof of income for everyone in the household, and proof of resources.

HEFPA (Home Energy Fair Practices Act), enforced by the Public Service Commission: during the cold weather period November 1 to April 15 all residential gas, electric and steam customers get extra protections and shut-off procedures, and there are year-round protections for customers with medical emergencies and those who are elderly, blind or disabled. Utilities file their moratorium dates annually. See https://dps.ny.gov/your-rights-residential-gas-electric-or-steam-customer-under-hefpa

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

Emergency HEAP is a separate application from Regular HEAP and adds a resource test that Regular does not have. If HEAP cannot help, ask your local DSS about emergency Temporary Assistance (form LDSS-2921). NYC and the rest of the state use different online portals.

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