State helps cover low-income residents’ utility bills
Despite federal funding uncertainty, Wisconsin’s low-income energy assistance program has begun offering help for residents struggling to pay utility bills.
The Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program helps cover electricity bills for low-income residents during colder months, when energy costs are highest. The 2025-26 benefits season started Oct. 1 and will run until May 15.
The program receives both state and federal funding. Wisconsin lawmakers maintained state funding levels in the biennial budget passed this summer, but around $4 billion in federal low-income energy assistance funding is tied up in Congress amid a government shutdown.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump fired all federal employees staffing the program and eliminated funding in his 2026 budget proposal.
Households may receive smaller payments if federal funding is not approved, said Mirabel Rodriguez, manager for Milwaukee County’s Energy Assistance Program, which is run through Community Advocates, a social services nonprofit.
But Rodriguez said she’s trying not to let federal funding uncertainty “impact our clients or how we are taking applications.”
“We are going to run business as usual,” Rodriguez said.
Here’s what to know:
What assistance does the program provide?
The Energy Assistance Program provides a one-time payment to help cover the cost of electricity or heating oil. The amount depends on household size and income.
In previous years, residents received notice of their payment amount once their applications were approved. Now, however, the program is waiting for the state to formally distribute its funding before notifying approved applicants, Rodriguez said.
“That’s the only hiccup that we’re dealing with right now,” Rodriguez said. “As soon as we get a release, they’ll receive a letter in the mail with the benefit amount.”
Residents can receive one payment per benefits season, Rodriguez said. But the program also includes a fund for crisis assistance for residents facing an imminent loss of energy. Residents may be eligible even if they’ve already received an energy assistance payment.
Residents who receive energy assistance may also be approved for a program that covers water heater or furnace repairs and replacements, Rodriguez said.
In the 2024-25 benefits season, Wisconsin’s Energy Assistance Program provided over $136 million in energy assistance to more than 186,000 households, according to a Department of Administration spokesperson.
Who is eligible for assistance?
Wisconsin residents qualify for energy assistance if they fall below a certain income level based on their household’s size and income from the previous month.
Unemployment benefits do not count toward a household’s income. For self-employed, seasonal or farm workers, income is measured based on their federal income tax forms from the previous year.
This season’s income requirements are as follows:
- 1-person household: $3,201.75 one-month income ($38,421 annual income)
- 2-person household: $4,186.92 one-month income ($50,243 annual income)
- 3-person household: $5,172.08 one-month income ($62,065 annual income)
- 4-person household: $6,157.33 one-month income ($73,888 annual income)
- 5-person household: $7,142.50 one-month income ($85,710 annual income)
- 6-person household: $8,127.67 one-month income ($97,532 annual income)
- 7-person household: $8,312.33 one-month income ($99,748 annual income)
- 8-person household: $8,497.08 one-month income ($101,965 annual income)
How can I apply for energy assistance?
Milwaukee County residents can apply for energy assistance online at keepmkewarm.org, by mail or over the phone at (414) 270-4653. Community Advocates’ downtown Milwaukee office, 728 N. James Lovell St., offers walk-in appointments from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Community Advocates will also open its office at 4906 W. Fond du Lac Ave. for paper application pick-ups and drop-offs later this month, tentatively set for Oct. 13, Rodriguez said. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Residents living outside Milwaukee County can visit the program’s website for more information on how to apply.
What if my application is denied?
If a resident’s application is denied, they can apply again after 30 days, Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez encouraged residents to apply again even if they’ve been denied in the past, since the income level has increased from last year. Losing or changing jobs can also cause households that were previously ineligible to qualify for assistance.
Community Advocates processed 26,186 Energy Assistance Program applications during the 2024-25 season.
Does the Energy Assistance Program provide services year-round?
Though Energy Assistance Program payments sunset May 15, crisis energy assistance provides emergency payments year-round so long as its funding hasn’t run out. The crisis program ran out of money for a few days this summer before the state allocated more funding, Rodriguez said.
Utility companies cannot disconnect customers for unpaid energy bills between Nov. 1 and April 15, when the statewide energy moratorium is in place. But unpaid bills can stack up and leave residents in deep trouble by the time the moratorium lifts, Rodriguez said.
Community Advocates also works with We Energies’ Low-Income Forgiveness Tool Program. It allows eligible customers to enter into a deferred payment plan and have some past balances forgiven.
“Take advantage of that program if you have high arrears so that once that moratorium lifts, you’re not in a bind,” Rodriguez said.
More information is available on Community Advocates’ and We Energies’ websites.