Help With Your Electric Bill in Wisconsin: WHEAP

Applications are accepted year-round, but the heating season is October 1 to May 15: an application filed in that window is what gets you the one-time regular payment. Applications outside the season are considered for other help if funds remain. The 2026-2027 program year (Oct 1, 2026 - Sep 30, 2027) is already published with its income limits, so the window opens October 1, 2026. Reviews can take up to 10 business days; incomplete applications are denied after 30 days.

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.

Crisis assistance is the second half of WHEAP. If you are already disconnected, have no heat or electricity, or are about to be disconnected, call the Customer Care Center at 1-800-506-5596 immediately - the state's own instruction, ahead of filling in the online form. Related Home Energy Plus services: HVAC Program Services repairs or replaces a broken or unsafe heating system for eligible homeowners, and the Water Conservation Program repairs or replaces failing water heaters.

Online at https://energybenefit.wi.gov (you get a 6-digit passcode, valid 24 hours; takes 45-60 minutes), or by phone, mail or in person through your local county or tribal agency. Statewide help line 1-866-HEATWIS (1-866-432-8947); online application Customer Care Center 1-800-506-5596.

A one-time regular payment covering part of your heating and, through the Public Benefits fund, non-heating electric costs. The amount is not published as a fixed figure; it depends on income, household size and energy cost.

Dates of birth for everyone in the home, income from all sources for all adults (pay stubs or W-2), fuel types and the utility or fuel company name plus the account number on each bill, and landlord name, address and phone if you rent. Uploading a utility bill, pay stubs and the lease speeds it up.

Winter moratorium roughly November 1 to April 15 for regulated electric and gas customers, plus extreme-weather restrictions and a 21-day delay when a physician, social services, public health or law enforcement officer certifies a medical or protective-services emergency (the customer must agree to a payment plan). Source here is the federal LIHEAP Clearinghouse seasonal-termination table; confirm with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.

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

Because applications are accepted all year, the risk here is not a closed window but the 10-day review: do not wait for a shut-off notice to apply. Use Chrome for the online form and only the in-form buttons - the browser Back button breaks it.

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