Utility Hardship Funds and Senior Shut-Off Protections

What this program is, in plain English

Your electric and gas company has four things that most customers never hear about. A hardship fund, usually paid for by other customers' donations, that gives a one-time grant toward an overdue balance. A medical baseline or life-support rate, which gives you more electricity at the cheapest price if someone in the home uses oxygen, a CPAP machine, dialysis, or a power wheelchair, and which also puts you on a protected list before any outage or shut-off. Shut-off protection rules, which in most states stop a disconnection in winter, in a heat wave, or when a doctor signs a medical certificate, and which are often stronger for households with someone over 62 or 65. And budget billing, which averages your bill across twelve months so a January gas bill does not arrive all at once. Every one of these is a phone call. One caution about the medical protection: every state has some form of it, and a clinician's written certification is what triggers it, but the specifics differ from state to state and it generally delays a disconnection rather than forgiving what you owe. The honest step is one phone call to the utility asking for four things by name: a shut-off hold, medical certification, a payment plan or budget billing, and the hardship fund. Then apply for LIHEAP if your income qualifies. Shut-off rules are set by your state public utility commission, so that is where to look them up.

What you actually get

One-time grants toward arrears, a lower medical rate, a legal block on disconnection, and level monthly billing.

Who qualifies

• Income limit: Not yet verified — call to confirm
• Medical baseline requires a form signed by a doctor. Shut-off protections and age thresholds are set by each state's public utility commission.

What to have ready

• Your utility bill
• A medical certificate signed by your doctor for medical protections
• Proof of income for hardship grants

How to apply

This program is run by Your electric or gas utility, overseen by your state public utility commission. Most decisions take Medical protections often go into effect within days; hardship grants take a few weeks.