Maine Heating Assistance: HEAP

Q: What is heating assistance called in Maine?

Maine runs the federal program as Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), administered by MaineHousing (Maine State Housing Authority). 18 different program names appear across the states compiled here, which is why a search for the federal acronym often misses the page a household in Maine actually needs.

Q: When can a household apply for heating assistance in Maine?

Applications run August 3 to May 29. The agency's own words: "Applications for the 2026 - 2027 HEAP Program season will start on August 3, 2026 and continue until funds are exhausted or May 29, 2027."

Q: Does Maine also stop a utility disconnecting heat in winter?

Maine Public Utilities Commission sets a separate rule on that, and its short form is: November 15 to April 15. In several states the two are linked, because receiving assistance is itself what switches the disconnection protection on. The winter shutoff page for Maine carries the rule.

Q: Is there help making the house cheaper to heat in Maine?

MaineHousing runs Weatherization Assistance Program, which is the companion to the bill payment side. Its own words: "The Weatherization Assistance Program helps eligible Maine households lower energy costs and enjoy a more comfortable, energy efficient home."

Q: Is heating assistance in Maine a state program or a federal one?

Both, in the way that matters to a household. The money is a federal block grant; MaineHousing (Maine State Housing Authority) decides what it is called, when it opens, who is eligible and what it pays. Across the states compiled here that produces 18 program names and 8 different opening months, so the answer is a state answer even though the funding is federal.

HEAP

What it is called here

Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP)

Aug 3

The season opens

through May 29

Set locally

The income limit

the agency publishes a rule rather than a figure

Yes

Crisis component

a separate, faster application

The answer

Heating assistance in Maine, in one screen

HEAP

Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP)

Run by: MaineHousing (Maine State Housing Authority), delivered by local Community Action Agencies and ProsperityME
The season: Applications run August 3 to May 29.
The income test: The test is A maximum gross household income set by household size, published by MaineHousing; households over the limit may deduct part of what they paid in medical expenses., set out in the state agency's own table rather than as a percentage of either national measure.
How to apply: MaineHousing (Maine State Housing Authority) takes applications online, at a community action agency, by phone and in person.
By phone: 877-544-3271

Home Energy Assistance Program, MaineHousing

Applications for the 2026 - 2027 HEAP Program season will start on August 3, 2026 and continue until funds are exhausted or May 29, 2027.

Home Energy Assistance Program, MaineHousing, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

A benefit paid toward heating costs, usually sent straight to the fuel provider as a credit, with the amount varying by household size, income and other household expenses; HEAP eligibility also opens the electric Low-Income Assistance Program, weatherization and the Central Heating Improvement Program.

Who qualifies

The HEAP income test in Maine

The test is A maximum gross household income set by household size, published by MaineHousing; households over the limit may deduct part of what they paid in medical expenses., set out in the state agency's own table rather than as a percentage of either national measure.

Income is counted gross rather than after tax, and the household is everyone living at the address rather than everyone on the lease. Most states count the last thirty days or the last twelve months, not last year’s tax return, which means a household whose hours were cut in October can qualify in November on a year that looks too high on paper. Apply and let the agency do the arithmetic rather than ruling yourself out.

Eligibility for the HEAP program is determined by household income and size. Additional criteria may also apply.

Home Energy Assistance Program, MaineHousing, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

If you cannot wait

The crisis route in Maine

A household with an extremely low supply of heating fuel can seek emergency fuel or heating system help through the Energy Crisis Intervention Program after filing a HEAP application; the ECIP season runs November 1 through April 30.

A crisis application and a regular one are different transactions on different clocks. A household with a disconnection notice, an empty tank or a dead furnace should start with this one, say plainly on the call what the emergency is, and have the notice or the delivery ticket to hand.

If you have an extremely low supply of heating fuel, you may qualify for crisis assistance through the Energy Crisis Intervention Program, ECIP. Start by filling out a HEAP application and then contact your local CAA to determine eligibility for crisis assistance.

Home Energy Assistance Program, MaineHousing, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

A white residential propane tank standing on a concrete pad beside a mown yard, with bare trees and a wooded ridge behind it — For a household on propane or heating oil the benefit usually arrives as a delivery to a tank like this one rather than as a credit on a bill, which is why a state that pays vendors directly will ask which dealer you use before it asks anything else. “Propane Tank - panoramio”, Corey Coyle, CC BY 3.0

The other half

Whether Maine also stops the utility disconnecting

November 15 to April 15

The two are separate: a heating grant is money and a shutoff rule is a restriction on the company. In several states an approved grant application is itself what satisfies the filing the shutoff rule asks for, which makes applying worth doing even for a household that thinks the grant will not cover much. The full rule, with Maine Public Utilities Commission’s own words, is on the Maine winter shutoff page.

Next winter

Making the house cheaper to heat in Maine

Maine runs Weatherization Assistance Program through MaineHousing. It pays for the insulation and the air sealing rather than the bill, which is the only part of this that lowers next winter as well as this one.

The Weatherization Assistance Program helps eligible Maine households lower energy costs and enjoy a more comfortable, energy efficient home.

MaineHousing, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

Weatherization Assistance Program in Maine

In most states a household approved for the heating grant is automatically income eligible for weatherization, so the same paperwork does both. The waiting list is usually long and the work is usually free, which is a combination worth joining early rather than in the week it is needed.

Maine heating assistance questions

What is heating assistance called in Maine?

When can a household apply for heating assistance in Maine?

What is the income limit for HEAP in Maine?

The test is A maximum gross household income set by household size, published by MaineHousing; households over the limit may deduct part of what they paid in medical expenses., set out in the state agency's own table rather than as a percentage of either national measure. MaineHousing (Maine State Housing Authority) puts it this way: "Eligibility for the HEAP program is determined by household income and size. Additional criteria may also apply."

How does a household apply in Maine?

What happens if the heat is about to go off this week in Maine?

A household with an extremely low supply of heating fuel can seek emergency fuel or heating system help through the Energy Crisis Intervention Program after filing a HEAP application; the ECIP season runs November 1 through April 30. The agency's own words: "If you have an extremely low supply of heating fuel, you may qualify for crisis assistance through the Energy Crisis Intervention Program, ECIP. Start by filling out a HEAP application and then contact your local CAA to determine eligibility for crisis assistance."

Does Maine also stop a utility disconnecting heat in winter?

Is there help making the house cheaper to heat in Maine?

Is heating assistance in Maine a state program or a federal one?

Icicles hanging in a row from the eaves of a low brick apartment building against a clear blue sky, with a balcony rail at the right edge — A renter whose heat is bundled into the rent can still qualify in most states, and is among the least likely to apply. Where a state sets its income test against the federal poverty level rather than state median income, the line can sit twenty points apart for the same household. “Icicles on the eaves of a house in Quebec City”, Wilfredor, CC0

Heating assistance in other states

Maine winter shutoff rulesWhether Maine bars a winter disconnection, and what a household has to do.Winter shutoff rules by stateWhether a window, a forecast or a filing decides it where you live.Heating oil and propane pricesWhat the fuel costs this week in the states that report it.Firewood cutting permitsWhere a permit lets a household cut its own firewood.Heating assistance in every stateThe program names, the opening dates and the income tests side by side.

Maine read September 23, 2026 from Home Energy Assistance Program, MaineHousing, linked above. Opening dates, income limits and benefit amounts are set each program year and the agency can change them mid season, so the page linked above is the one that governs. Every state is on the heating assistance hub.