Help with your
Texas utility bills.

TDHCA does not accept applications from individuals. Its funds go to local provider organizations, and its Help for Texans search lists the one for your area: pick Utility Bill Payment Help, then enter your city or county.

TDHCA warns that listed providers may be at capacity with their funds. If none can help, it suggests checking with your city or county, or using Texas 2-1-1.

Agencies are told to accept applications several ways, including online, mail, fax, email and in person, and to make reasonable accommodations for home-bound people. Returning clients may be allowed a shortened application.

Texas calls its program CEAP, but it runs on the same federal block grant as LIHEAP everywhere else, and our national guide walks through how to apply for LIHEAP.

Under CEAP, a disconnect notice alone is not a crisis. The household must have a notice or be disconnected and also face extreme weather conditions, a disaster or a life-threatening crisis.

TDHCA gives these as examples of service that is already lost or in immediate danger. A household may receive several crisis payments in a year, up to its approved maximum.

• Electric or gas service already disconnected
• An empty propane tank, or propane below 20% of the tank
• A heating or cooling system that does not work
• Less than $30 left in a prepaid account

Under Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) rule 25.483, a retail electric provider cannot authorize a disconnection for nonpayment in a county having an extreme weather emergency. It must also offer residential customers a deferred payment plan on request for bills due during one.

That emergency is a day after a high of 32 degrees or less, with temperatures forecast to stay there for 24 hours, or a day when the National Weather Service has a heat advisory for the county, including one issued in either of the two days before.

In areas with retail electric competition, a person with a chronic or critical medical condition can register for added protections: a doctor sends the PUCT form to your utility. If your utility is city-owned or a co-op, ask it what options it offers.

State rules require every agency to have a written procedure for serving households with a vulnerable member, high energy burden and high energy consumption. High energy burden must be the highest-rated item when agencies score applicants.

Vulnerable households can get help for up to all remaining months of the program year. Other households are limited to up to 6 months, and an agency may set a lower limit in its plan.

Benefit level follows income as a share of the federal poverty guidelines, with no rounding. A household at 50.01% falls in the 50 to 75% band, and one at 75.01% falls in the 75 to 150% band.

CPS Energy customers in San Antonio and Bexar County have a second place to ask besides CEAP. The Residential Energy Assistance Partnership (REAP) is a nonprofit fund that CPS Energy backs, while the City of San Antonio and Bexar County handle the applications.

Household income must be at or below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines. Once approved, you may apply twice a year, for a combined $480 at most, and the money shows up as a credit on your CPS Energy bill. Expect to show proof of income, hardship and household size.

Besides the income test, the household must meet at least one of these:

• Someone age 60 or older
• A member with a disability
• Children under 17 living in the home
• Someone who needs critical care equipment

Veterans with severe combat burns that limit their ability to regulate body temperature can get up to $94 a month off the electric portion of a CPS Energy bill, from April through October.

Eligibility needs a medical military facility certification, with medical confirmation every 12 months. The discount covers one account at the home where you live, and you re-enroll every 24 months or after a move. Only one electric discount can be used at a time.