Help with your
North Carolina utility bills.

LIEAP makes one payment per season and sends it straight to your heating vendor, not to you. It is meant for heating bills, and your household has to be responsible for its own heating costs.

CIP takes applications from July 1 through June 30 of the next year, or until the CIP allocation runs out. Because it covers cooling as well as heating, it is the program to ask about during a summer shutoff.

LIEAP income levels are based on 130% of the federal poverty level. CIP income levels are based on 150%, so a household just over the LIEAP cutoff may still qualify for crisis help if it has a crisis.

Households that include someone aged 60 or older, or a disabled person receiving services through the NC Division of Aging and Adult Services, can sign up for LIEAP from December 1 to 31.

Every other household applies from January 1 through March 31, or until funds are exhausted. NCDHHS tells applicants to contact their county DSS for local application dates, so call before you go in.

If a relative aged 60 or older lives with you, or a disabled relative who gets services through the NC Division of Aging and Adult Services, your whole household can use the December window instead of waiting for January.

CIP is for a household that has, or is about to have, a life-threatening or health-related heating or cooling emergency that no other source can fix in time. Each household is evaluated case by case.

NCDHHS says a disconnect notice is not required at this time. A final notice or past due bill can be shown instead. You can apply by mail, email, fax or drop-off, and no face-to-face interview is required right now.

• Resources at or below $4,500 if a member is 60 or older or disabled
• Resources at or below $3,000 for all other households
• A utility statement showing how much is owed to end the crisis

The state's LIEAP eligibility chart lists what the county verifies at application. For identity and address, it also lists contact with someone who knows your situation.

• Identification (ID)
• A lease, rental agreement or other shelter expense record
• Proof of citizenship or eligible immigration status
• Social Security card or number
• Pay stubs or tax forms for wages and self-employment
• Award letters for benefits, pensions or trusts
• Bank, court, ownership and tax records for assets
• Copies of your heating bills

Under Commission Rule R12-11, for electric bills issued November 1 to March 31, no termination can happen without the Commission's express approval if a member is 65 or older or disabled, the bill cannot be paid in full, and social services certifies the household as crisis-aid eligible.

That certification counts whether or not crisis funds are still available. Residential electric service also cannot be cut on Fridays, weekends, state or federal holidays, or the day before a holiday.

You can appeal a planned termination informally to the Public Staff Consumer Services Division by phone at (919) 733-9277, in writing or in person.